A Beach Day
by Michelle-And-The-Beatle
Summary: I wrote this series in the summer of 2012. The entire plot has to do with an OC of mine spending a day or two at the beach with The Avengers (and Loki). Major OC business in this, so if you disapprove of Original Characters, then this story isn't for you. But if you like them, by all means, read it! Please Enjoy!
1. A Beach Day

I had been friends with The Avengers for a couple months now. And they're not as annoying or obnoxious as you would think. Well, they're nice to me, at least. And as a 'thank you' gift, I decided to take them to the sound in Riverhead. Reeves Park, to be exact. This was a quiet and friendly place that has access to the sound at one end. I've been going here since I was born, and now my grandparents live here. So, this was easy for me to do.

The Avengers said they would meet me at the beach (I know it's the sound, but to make it easier, I'm calling it the beach. Sorry if this bothers you). And after I offered this to them, I went to Loki. He was skeptical at first, but I think I convinced him.

Loki and I arrived first. We set our chairs, blanket, and umbrella down. And I showed him how to set up the umbrella. Loki looked strange in swim trunks to me. I think it was mainly because I was so used to seeing him with that heavy armor over many layers of clothing. It was nice to see him in dark green swim trunks with two lines of gold on each side. And he decided not to wear a shirt, which I was fine with. Once we were set, I decided to go in the water.

"You want to go in the water with me?" I asked him. Loki looked at me.

"I don't know..."

"Why? The water's not gonna kill you."

"That's the least of my worries."

"Okay. Then, you should be fine."

"I've never been to a beach before. And even here, I feel different."

"Trust me, anyone wearing a bathing suit for the first time feels different."

Loki chuckled.

"Come on. It'll be fun," I encouraged him. Loki sighed.

"Fine. But if it's not fun, I'm going back up here."

"Okay. Oh, hold on. I forgot to put on sunblock."

I walked over to my bag, which contained all beach essentials: Sunblock, sunglasses, and towels. I had to take off my cover-up, which I wasn't too thrilled with doing. You see, I'm not a supermodel or a really pretty, thin woman. I'm a fourteen-year-old girl who has a little too much fat around her midsection. I mustered up all my bravery, hoping Loki was looking somewhere else but at me, and pulled off my beach dress. I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit. It was black, but had small white and green stripes on each side of it. And just because I think it looks cool, I have short bathing shorts that are black with white lining around the edges. It doesn't look that bad.

I took the sunblock out of my bag. It was the sprayable kind, so I twisted the top to open it. I covered my arms, chest, legs, and the back of my neck. That was all I could reach by myself. It was times like these when I wished that my parents were around to help me with my back.

"Loki?" I asked and turned around to face him. He had been looking at me curiously, wondering what I was doing.

"Y-Yes?"

"Can you, um... Can you do my back?"

"What?"

"With this. I know this is new to you, but this is sunblock. It prevents you from getting burnt by the sun. And you have to spray it on yourself, in this case. And I can't reach my back. So, I'm asking you if you can do it for me. Please."

Loki just looked from me to the bottle of sunblock in my hands. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright. Forget it. I'll ask Tony to do it for me later," I put the spray back in my bag, and instead pulled out the real sunblock. I squirted some on my hands and covered my face in it. I was now UV protected. But then I looked at Loki.

"Do you need to put sunblock on, or are you not affected by the sun?" I asked him and looked at his incredibly pale skin.

"I'm not quite sure. And what do you mean get burnt by the sun? Does the sun fall to the Earth when you are on the beach?"

I began laughing.

"Noho. The sun's rays are very strong, and there's not much protection from them on the beach. And if we stay in the sun without any kind of protection, we get burnt. What, nobody on Asgard has ever gotten sunburn?"

"No account of it has ever reached my ears. But I think I would like to put on this sunblock. I don't want to end up as the god of lobsters."

Loki smiled when I giggled at his joke. I handed him the spray. He looked at it curiously.

'Oh, this will be very interesting,' I thought. Loki turned the container around in his hand a few times.

"How do you turn it on?"

I walked over to him and took the sunblock from his hands and said, "You twist this cap. Then, you make sure that the squirting side is facing the right way. And then you press down on the top and the sunblock comes out. It's a spray so you don't have to rub it in. But I do it anyway. Here," I handed him back the container, all ready for him to use. I watched as he squirted some of it into the air, but the wind caught it and it backfired onto him. He started coughing and sputtering. I was laughing.

"It got in my eye!" Loki yelled and started rubbing his right eye. I stopped laughing at his pain, and took the can from him.

"Hehe. Are you okay? I'm sorry. I should've helped you. Here, I'll show you. Just stand still and close your eyes."

"Alright," Loki said. He stopped rubbing his eye and stood up straight with his arms at his sides. And now he was closing his eyes.

"Okay. I'm gonna put it on," I said. I watched Loki nod. Then, I sprayed some on his left arm. Loki flinched and gasped.

"What?" I said.

"I-It's very cold."

I giggled, "Sorry. Well, when I first put it on, it will be cold. I'm doing your other arm now."

I sprayed his right arm, and now there was less of a reaction. Then I moved on to his chest and stomach. He flinched a couple times, but didn't do anything serious.

"Okay. Turn. I need to get your back."

Loki turned stiffly and I sprayed the back of his neck and his back.

"I think you're good now. But you need some of it on your face," I said. Loki opened his eyes and blinked a couple times. He was re-adjusting to the bright light.

"I need more of that? I feel so stiff. Are you sure that didn't paralyse me?" Loki moved his arms back and forth. I laughed.

"I'm sure, Loki. Come here," I said. I had rubbed some of the white goo on my hands and was ready to put it on Loki's equally white face.

"Should I close my eyes?"

"Yep."

Loki closed his eyes. I rubbed the sunblock under his eyes first. I saw him wrinkle his nose.

"Did I get it in your eye?"

"No. It feels weird."

I finished covering his face in sunblock. Loki opened his eyes.

"I can only imagine how I look right now," Loki said and smiled. I smiled as well.

"I'm proud of you. You're blending into the beach crowd now."

"Yes. Aren't I proud?"

"Hehehe. Come on. Let's go in the water. It's kind of low now, but I heard the tide is supposed to be coming up," I looked at Loki. I could tell that he understood only about five words of what I said.

"Just come," I summoned him as I started walking to the water. I heard Loki chuckling behind me.

"What?" I said and turned my head.

"Why do you walk so funny?"

"Oh..." I said and grinned. In the sound, the sand is covered in rocks. They kind of hurt your feet when you walk on them, which is why most people on the beach walk weird every time they come near the water.

"The rocks hurt. Come here and you'll see."

Loki sighed and started marching down the sand. Once he left the soft sand on the higher ground, he gasped.

"What was that?" I asked, grinning at him. Loki straightened himself out.

"Nothing. I'm coming," he said. But Loki didn't move. I decided to continue to the shore of the water. Once I got there, I turned around to see how Loki was doing. He hadn't moved from his original spot.

"Come on."

"I'm trying," Loki took another step and stifled a yelp. He continued walking on the rocks, and he looked ridiculous. With each step, he wobbled a lot and flailed his arms in the air for balance. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying not to laugh at him. I noticed a few children pointing at Loki and mumbling to themselves, most likely about him.

"You're almost there," I said between a few chuckles. I looked up the ramp to the beach for any signs of The Avengers. I didn't see anyone that looked like them. I heard Loki yelp, and I returned my gaze to him. I belted out a laugh when I saw him. Loki had fallen to the ground. He was now sitting on his butt, chuckling at himself. Those children were now laughing at him, as well.

"I fell," he said.

"I noticed."

I walked over to Loki and offered him a hand to his feet. He took it and he was soon standing again.

"You're being very nice about this," Loki said to me.

"What do you mean?"

"You're patient with me, even when I look like an idiot."

"Well, this is your first time on a beach, so I figured something would go screwy."

"Thank you."

"You know, we've been here for about twenty minutes and I still haven't gone in the water."

Loki laughed and said, "I'm sorry for holding you up."

He started to walk again, but nearly toppled over. I grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Not only do these rocks make it incredibly difficult to walk, but they hurt!" Loki said. I chuckled.

"I know. You'll get used to it eventually. It'll feel better in the water."

"Alright. Can I lean on you? Just to balance myself."

"Sure," I answered. Loki gripped my shoulder pretty tightly. I tried to walk fast so the rocks wouldn't hurt as much, but Loki was a slow mover.

Finally, we reached the shore. I walked into the water up to my shins.

"You coming?"

"Yes. Just give me a second," Loki said. I saw him move closer to the water, still not touching it. Then, he placed the toes of his right foot in the water and immediately recoiled them back.

"It's freezing in there!"

"No, it's not. You'll get used to it. Just come in. If you run in the water and dive, you'll be warm in seconds."

"I didn't see you do that."

"Well, that's because I can't dive. My dad does it, though. Don't make me pull you in," I said and smiled. Just then, I saw Tony stroll down the beach with Steve, Thor, and Bruce in tow. I grinned when he waved at me. Loki was staring at the water in front of him, not noticing me wave back.

"I don't think I like this water. It's too cold, Michelle."

"You'll be fine. Look, I'll go under."

"What?! Don't you drown because of this!"

"Relax. I can swim. Wait... Can you swim?"

"Somewhat. But I can't go too deep."

"Oh, okay. Jut watch me go under the water. It's fine," I said and headed out a little deeper until the water was at my waist. It was pretty cold, but I was used to it. I held my nose and dunked my whole body under water. I came back up and pushed the hair that came out of my ponytail out of my face.

"See?" I said, looking back at Loki. I saw The Avengers set up their things near Loki and I's stuff. Then, I made eye contact with Tony.

"Just come in the water, Loki!" I said louder than necessary, so Tony could here me. He smiled. I watched him take off his shirt and shoes and quietly walk to the water.

"I don't think I can do it."

"Please. You're a freaking god, and you're scared of a little water," I said. Loki looked at me. Tony was now approaching behind Loki. I smiled.

"Don't make me force you to come in this water. I will."

"I doubt you can make me because I have magic," Loki smiled, "I'll just stay here and watch you swim."

Suddenly, Tony picked up Loki from behind. Loki screamed when he was being lifted into the air.

"Why don't you listen to the girl? The water's fine," Tony was now holding Loki bridal style and walking into the water. Loki was holding onto Tony's neck for dear life. He looked so scared.

"Stark! Get me out of here!" Loki yelled at him, but didn't let go. In fact, Loki lifted his legs higher when Tony went deeper in the water. Soon, he was at his bellybutton in the water.

"Loki, the water is fine," I said to him.

"Yeah, it's so warm. You're lucky this isn't the ocean. Because there are huge waves there," Tony smirked. Loki whimpered.

"I'm gonna drop you on the count of three. One..."

"No! Stop, stop, stop!" Loki was pleading with Tony.

"Two..."

"He's getting close, Loki," I decided to tease him.

"Please!" Loki's voice cracked. Tony lifted Loki higher in the air.

"Three!" Tony yelled. He threw Loki into the air and he landed in the water. Loki came back up taking in deep breaths of air. His hair was covering his face.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark," I laughed. Tony went under the water and swam over to me. He popped out of the water and hugged me.

"How are you, Michelle?"

"Good. But Loki doesn't like it here very much."

"I can tell. I bet he's part cat or something. Thanks for inviting us. It looks great over here. It's so private."

"Yeah. Well, only people who live here are really supposed to be here."

"Oh, so you're brekaing the beach law."

"Hahaha. Sort of. But it's fine. Everyone in Reeves is so nice."

"Yeah, a lot of people said hi to us on the way to your spot over there."

"Where's Clint and Natasha?"

"They didn't want to come. I guess they're not beach people. And I practically had to beg Steve and Banner to come."

"Awww. Why does no one like it here?"

"Because the water is too damn cold!" Loki said from his place in the shallower water. I laughed and swam over to him.

"But you made it in. I'm happy about that. You don't like the water?"

"No. I'm more of a flight person. I hate getting wet, unless it's a bath or shower."

"Just stay in a little longer. The water is beautiful," I said and splashed Loki. He rubbed the water out of his eyes.

"Stop," he said seriously. Well, I thought he was being serious until he splashed me back. I swam back over to Tony with Loki following behind me.

"The water doesn't affect that?" I asked Tony and pointed to the thing on his chest that is his source of life.

"No. I made it water-proof when I found out I was coming here today."

"You're amazing," I chuckled. Suddenly, I felt a whole gush of water hit my back. I sighed, as Loki laughed behind me.

"I hate splashing. Stop."

"I'm gonna agree with her. Knock it off," Tony said, but still splashed Loki. Soon, the two of them were involved in a splashing fight. I swam out of the line of fire and looked up at the beach. I saw Steve, Thor, and Bruce all sitting in chairs, watching the splash war. I waved to them to see if anyone was paying attention. Steve waved back at me, and soon Bruce and Thor did, too. Then, I made the 'summoning' hand movement. They looked at each other. Thor was the first to stand up. He took off his shirt and headed down the beach. Steve looked at Bruce, said something, and then stood up as well.

It was weird seeing Thor in a bathing suit, like his brother. He didn't look weird at all walking down the rocky beach, however. Neither did Steve. I rolled my eyes, envious of their invincibility.

Tony and Loki stopped splashing each other when they saw Steve and Thor entering the water. Steve made a weird face, then chuckled and said that the water was cold.

"Come in, Rogers. The water isn't going to bite," Tony said.

"No, I know," Steve returned. He dove into the water and ended up near Tony and Loki, throwing hair out of his face. I swam over to the three of them. Thor was standing in the water up to his ankles.

"What is with these Asgardians and water?" Tony said to me. I giggled.

"I heard that," Loki said and splashed Tony again, but gently. Tony laughed.

"Come in, Thor!" I yelled at him, "The water's fine."

Thor looked up at me, then back at the water. He slowly went deeper into the water. He was now at his knees in the cool blue liquid. I swam over to him, then started walking when the water became too shallow.

"You scared?" I said to him so only he could hear.

"Nay. I just don't know how to swim."

"Loki said he can swim a little bit. Is that true?"

"Yes. Loki was always able to swim."

"Okay. Just follow me. All you have to do is walk in the water. And you're really tall, so you can go pretty deep without needing to swim."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'll walk slowly."

So, I began walking deeper into the water with Thor following behind me.

"She is so nice," Steve said.

"I know. Patience is a very good quality of hers," Loki glanced at Steve then looked back at me.

"I would just leave Thor there to fend for himself," Tony said. Loki and Steve gave him looks.

"What?"

They both rolled their eyes, and the three of them continued watching Thor take careful steps into the water.

"How you doing?" I asked Thor when he was at his stomach in the water.

"I can stand."

"Good. Keep coming. You can go another yard in the water."

"Hello, Thunder Pants," Tony snickered when Thor and I approached him and the other two, "How's the water?"

"Cold."

I laughed. Why did everybody think the water was so freezing?

"You did it, Thor!" I told him when I could no longer stand in the water. He was only up to his shoulders. Thor then smiled at me.

"The water may be cold, but it is refreshing," Thor took water in his cupped hands and splashed it on his face. I looked up at the beach again to see Bruce watching us.

"How come Bruce won't come in the water?"

"Maybe he's afraid of Hulking-out when I start splashing him," Tony joked.

"I think I'm gonna head in," I said, getting very tired of treading water.

"Why?"

"I can't stand, and I want to dry off."

"Okay. See you soon," Steve said. I began swimming back to shore.

When I reached shallow water, I stood up and walked the rest of the way. I walked up the rocky sand and waved when I saw Bruce. He gave me a small smile and waved back.

"You have a nice beach, here."

"Thanks. But it's not really mine."

"I know. But you've come here before, yes?"

"Yeah. My parents have brought me here since I was born," I said and grabbed my Beatles towel from my bag. I wrapped myself in it and sat down in my chair.

"What did your towel say? I couldn't read it," Bruce said once I sat down. He was very observant at times.

"Oh, it said 'The Beatles' and it has their pictures on it."

"You like The Beatles?"

"Yeah, I love them. I'm obsessed with them, actually. Do you like them?''

"I know a couple of their songs."

"Cool. How come you didn't go in the water?" I asked him as I started using the tip of the towel to dry my ears.

"I, um... I'm not exactly clean shaven at the moment. However, they are all waxed, somehow."

I giggled and said, "So, you're just insecure."

"Basically, yeah."

"It's okay. I'll go in with you later, if you want. No one on this beach really cares what you look like. Have you seen some of the guys here? They're either hairy or fat or both."

Bruce laughed. I was happy that I was cheering him up about this whole situation.

"You're in good shape."

"But the hair is where I come in."

"You're fine."

"Thank you. And, uh, thanks for inviting us here."

"No problem. It's the least I could do for you guys. You're all so nice to me."

Bruce smiled, "Well, we like you. We wouldn't be nice to you if we didn't like you."

"Thanks. And I like you guys just the same."

I reached in my bag and pulled out my sunglasses, but then something caught my eye.

"Oh, Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"Can you put sunblock on my back? I didn't get a chance to do it before because Loki was too confused."

Bruce chuckled and said, "Sure."

"Thanks," I said and grabbed the sunblock spray. I walked over to him in his chair and kneeled in front of him so it would be easier to put on the spray.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Do I turn into a giant green monster when I'm pissed?"

I laughed.

"Hehe. Give it to me."

I handed Bruce the sunblock and he sprayed it on my back. When he was done, he handed the container to me.

"Thank you," I told him and stood up.

"You're welcome."

I went back over to my bag and put the sunblock away. Then I put my sunglasses on and reclined my low chair.

"I'm gonna try and rest. Just in case you wanted to know."

"Heh. Okay. I'll make sure to tell them not to disturb you."

"Thanks."

I pulled my towel off of myself, and instead rested it on top of me and used it as a blanket. I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the waves and children screaming and laughing.

Thor, Loki, Tony, and Steve came out of the water ten minutes later.

"She's sleeping?" Tony asked Bruce when he grabbed his towel.

"She said she was."

"Okay. Just asking."

"How come you didn't join us, Dr. Banner?" Thor asked Bruce.

"I'll go in the water later, Thor. I wanted to get a feel of the beach first."

Steve chuckled. He sat in his beach chair and pulled out a book.

"Oh God," Tony started, "You actually brought a book? That's what old people do... oh, wait. You're, like, one hundred years old."

"Can it, Tony," Steve said seriously. He found the page his bookmark was on and continued from there.

Thor and Loki found their respective seats and sat down. Loki glanced at me quickly before looking back at The Avengers.

"Really, guys? You're all boring! Michelle's sleeping, Steve's reading, and Bruce isn't angry. This sucks," Tony suddenly complained to everyone.

"I don't appreciate that comment, Tony," Bruce said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Tony didn't say anything in return and instead looked at me again. This time, he had an evil gleam in his eyes. Bruce noticed that.

"Don't do anything to her, Tony. She just wanted to rest."

"Chill, Banner. I just wanted to mess with her," Tony aproached my chair. Loki stood up from his seat next to me and blocked Tony's path.

"I'm not gonna hurt her. I just want to wake her up," Tony smiled.

"Don't bother her," Loki said.

"I want to wake her up. That's it!"

"I'm awake, you idiots," I spoke and removed my sunglasses, "Just because my eyes were closed doesn't mean I wasn't attentive."

Loki chuckled.

"Just relax, Tony. We're on a beach. You're supposed to enjoy yourself," I said to the billionaire.

"You're right. Sorry," Tony said. He walked back over to his seat, which was set up next to Loki's. I looked at the god sitting next to me, who was staring at the sound.

"You're hair looks weird," I said to Loki. He looked at me, smiled, and touched his hair.

"Well, it's wet. So, it won't look like how you normally see it."

"But your hair is kind of wavy. I figured it would always be straight."

"No. Not really. I always wonder what your hair looks like, if that doesn't sound strange."

I was quiet, but grinned.

"No, it's not strange."

"Is your hair wavy?"

"It's more curly than wavy."

Loki laughed at me, "Really?"

"Yeah. I think I have my mom's hair to some extent."

"Can I see it?"

"No."

"Why won't you let him see it?" Tony spoke from his seat. He turned to look at me. He had sunglasses on now.

"Why were you listening?"

"You two are right next to me. Was I supposed to block you out?"

"Yes."

"Take your hair out of the bands. I want to see it," Loki reached for my ponytail, but I flinched away from him.

"No, you don't understand. My hair is terrible. You won't want to see it down."

"I do," Tony said.

"No. I'm not doing it."

"I want you to."

"Leave her alone, Stark. If she doesn't want to, let her be," Loki spoke warningly.

"Okay. But you asked to see her hair down, too," Tony reclined in his seat and sighed. I was very grateful to Loki for sticking up for me. I cleared my throat. Loki looked at me.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. Thank you for being on my side... a little bit. D-Do you want a towel? You're sopping wet," I smiled when Loki chuckled.

"Please," he said to me. I reached inside my bag and pulled out a second towel I packed for Loki. I handed it to him.

"Thank you."

He draped it over his shoulders, like a cape. Then he wiped water out of his eyes and overall face.

"How are you liking the beach?" I asked Loki.

"Quite fun, actually."

"Good."

"Michelle..." Tony said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"How come you don't wear a bikini?"

I heard Bruce stifle a laugh.

"Tony..." Steve warned him.

"What? I can't talk to her now?"

I figured he asked me that because a young girl, about eight or so, just walked down to the water. She was wearing a yellow bikini, which suited her for her young age.

"Huh?" Tony persisted. I adjusted my sunglasses without answering him.

"I guess it's 'everyone hates Tony' day, isn't it..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Loki looking down at me (I say looking down because I'm in a really low chair. Loki is in a normal one).

"Are you picturing me in a bikini?" I asked him jokingly. The tall, dark-haired god laughed.

"No. I assure you I wasn't. I was actually picturing Stark in a bikini," Loki said. I tried to laugh silently, but a couple 'ha's' escaped. Loki chuckled with me.

"Not a pretty sight," he finished. I laughed harder.

"You-You're disgusting," I choked out between laughs.

"I am?"

"That you would picture that, yes."

"Ehehehe."

"Brother, what is so funny?" Thor leaned forward in his chair so he could view Loki and I laughing amongst ourselves.

"N-Nothing, Thor."

"I don't believe you, but it is none of my business. Michelle?"

"Yes?"

"Why do your rocks have such unusual shapes?"

I smiled. He was talking about the large rocks that rested along the shore of the water when it was low tide, and were engulfed in the water when it was high tide.

"Um, I guess they began to take different shapes after all the years of erosion from the water. You know, the water actually used to reach the top of the cliff behind us."

"No!" Thor said incredulously.

"Yeah. My dad and my grandpa told me that. The highest I've seen it is at the foot of the cliff."

"That's amazing. And about the rocks..."

"Oh yeah. They have names."

"You name your rocks?" Steve looked up from his book at me.

"I know it sounds stupid, but we do. They each look like something familiar. I'll show you," I sat upright in my chair. It seemed everyone was attentive now, listening to me carefully.

"That rock right there," I pointed to one in front of us that was half in the water, "is called the Whale rock."

I stopped to let everyone take a look at the rock. It resembled a whale, hence the name.

"I can see that," Bruce said. Thor and Loki were still studying the rock.

"Do you guys know what a whale is?" I rested my head on my hand to look at the gods.

"I've heard of them," Loki said.

"They are giants of the sea, yes?" Thor looked at me, then back at the rock.

"Pretty much. Can you see how they look like that rock?"

"A little," Loki tilted his head to the side.

"Everyone sees it. I want to hear about the next one," an impatient Tony said.

"Alright," I resumed, "And the one next to it is kind of hard to see. You see the bit of it sticking out of the water? That one is called the Pancake. Because it's a flat rock. A lot of the kids play King of the Rock on it."

"We should play later," Tony smiled.

"What is King of the Rock?" Loki asked. I giggled because I thought it was fitting that he was intrigued by that game. I was about to explain it when Tony spoke.

"I'll tell ya. It's simple. You get a bunch of guys on that rock, and you all try to push everyone else off until you're the last one. Then, if you're the last one on, you're King of the Rock."

"Thank you for explaining that, Tony," I said.

"I want to play that," Thor smiled.

"Later, when the tide is higher," I said, worried about everyone's safety.

"What's that one?" Bruce pointed to a moss-covered rock further out in the water. That one was the hardest to see.

"That is called the Chair. When it's dead low, that rock is almost completely out of the water. And it looks like one of those plush couch chair things."

"Oh," Bruce said.

"And that one down there," I pointed to a huge rock far out to the left of everyone. The Avengers and Loki all looked that way.

"That is called the Loaf because it looks like a loaf of bread. When it's flood high, I sometimes go down there and climb it. And it's really cool when you get on top then jump into the water."

"We should do that later," Steve said.

"Yeah, I could take you guys down there. And all the way out there is the Sandbar rock," I pointed to a spot in the distant waters ahead of us, "You can swim out there when it's low tide and stand on it. But the tide is too high now. We missed it. And all the way down there..."

I pointed to the right, past the lifeguard stand in the distance.

"I think somewhere down there is the Baby Whale. Because we have a rock that looks like the Whale, but smaller. That's really all the rocks I know... Oh, wait! There's one more."

"You have a lot of weird rocks on this beach," Tony said.

"Thank you. And in between the Whale and the Pancake is a smaller rock that's covered in, like, seaweed, barnacles, and moss. It's always under water and you can only see the waves roll off of it when it's dead low. That one is called the Shark rock."

"What a comforting name," Bruce joked.

"Ha-ha. That's it, I think."

"This is one marvelous rock collection," Loki said, "And when can we play this, King of the Rock?"

"Easy, tiger," Tony said, "Michelle said when it's high tide. We don't want any injuries when I knock all of your asses off the rock. Yours too, Michelle."

"I'm not playing with you guys. Are you crazy? Me against three Avengers and two gods. I'll love to see how I would win that."

"I'll go easy on you, then."

"Sure. But I'm not playing. I'll watch."

"Don't make the lady play, Tony," Steve protected me, being the gentleman.

"I know, Rogers. I was just kidding."

"Lighten up, Steve," I said. I saw Captain America blush next.

"You even got the girl agreeing with me, Cap," Tony said.

"I was just trying to be nice," Steve mumbled and opened his book again. Tony chuckled and poked Steve's side, since he was on his other side. Steve jumped.

"Be happy," Tony smiled.

"I am!" Steve snapped at Tony.

"That didn't sound too cheery. Tell him he has to enjoy the beach, Banner."

"I'm not getting involved."

"Leave the Captain alone, Mr. Stark," Thor said.

"Sure. Once he cheers up," Tony now pinched Steve's side.

"Ow!" Steve flinched and grabbed his side. Tony snickered.

"I'm going in the water. Don't follow me," Steve stood up and acknowledged Tony. Tony shot his hands up innocently.

"Now, why would I do that?"

Steve rolled his eyes and flung his towel onto his chair. He then headed to the water.

"Ladies, keep your eyes peeled!" Tony screamed loudly. Steve looked over his shoulder and glared at Tony. I chuckled, but I still felt bad for Steve.

"Are you feeling okay, Michelle?" Loki asked me. I shot my head to look at him and furrowed my brow. Then I smiled.

"Why would I be sick? I'm fine."

"Well, I just assumed because your cheeks are quite red," Loki brushed his fingers over my right cheek. I gasped and touched my cheek as well.

"Someone blushing much?" Tony laughed at me.

"No, stupid. I've gotten a little too much sun."

"Oh... Ha! You're gonna be red for the next couple days."

"Shut up," I reached into my bag and pulled out the bottle of sunblock. I re-applied to my face and put the bottle back in the bag. I decided to look at Loki's face, just to see if he turned red. Surprisingly, I saw a little color on his upper cheeks.

"You're a bit red, too, Loki," I smiled.

"Have I gotten sun burnt?"

"A little."

I saw his cheeks go redder as he touched both of them. His ears also changed color. I giggled.

"It may not be sunburn, Loki. What are you embarrassed about?" I smiled, much to Loki's displeasure. I saw Tony look over at Loki. He started howling with laughter. Loki was turning redder by the second.

"N-No. I'm not embarrassed. I just got burnt, like you," Loki pointed at me. Thor even began chuckling. Bruce rolled his eyes at the situation, but you could tell he was trying not to smile or laugh.

"You're blushing, brother!" Thor accused, and laughed. Loki bit his lip, then covered his head in his hands.

"Heh, he wishes it was sunburn," Tony teased the poor god. Loki turned to me, so he wouldn't have to look at the insulting Avengers. I gave him a small smile before chortling at him.

"You aren't as nice as I thought," Loki told me and grinned at the end.

"Sorry."

"Have I stopped... Is my face its normal color?"

"No. You're gonna have to wait another four minutes."

Loki groaned, "I guess I'll join the Captain in the water. Care to come with me?"

"Sure."

Loki put the towel on his chair and stood up. He waited for me to do the same before we both walked to the water. Loki was much more balanced this time, although he did squeal and gasp a couple times.

"I was wondering when someone was gonna join me," Steve said, and swam closer to us, "The water is beautiful."

"I know. It's only like this in the summer. In the winter, it's, like, partially covered in ice."

"No!"

"Well, the shoreline is."

"That's cool."

Loki dove under the water at that point and emerged with his hair covering his face, like last time. I went under, as well.

"Loki was being teased, so we came in the water," I explained to Steve.

"Michelle!" Loki scolded me.

"It's fine. That was the reason Steve came in the water."

"Yeah. Anything to get away from Tony."

"I agree with that," Loki said and glanced back at the beach.

"Am I still red?" Loki asked me.

"No. But now you're pale again. I prefer the blushing you," I laughed evilly at him when Loki went under the water to hide his burning cheeks.

"Well, now it's bad again because of you," Loki said when his head popped up from under the water.

"Is that why they were teasing you?" Steve smiled at Loki. Loki nodded.

"It's okay. I've been teased a lot in the past... A lot."

Loki chuckled. I started swimming to the Whale when they were talking.

"Where are you going?" Loki called after me.

"Come and I'll show you," I said when I reached the rock. The tide was now high enough for me to do what I wanted to do.

Loki and Steve also swam to the rock. I started climbing it.

"Is that safe?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. As long as you don't fall. Come up. I wanna jump off the rock. It's really fun."

"Okay. Loki, you gonna join us?" Steve sad as he, too, climbed the Whale.

"I think I'm going to watch first."

"Okay."

I soon reached the top and was standing at the head of the rock. I looked behind me and saw Steve standing there.

"Go ahead," Steve said. I smiled and jumped off the rock with a scream. It felt like I made a big splash when I landed. I came up and heard Steve laughing. I swam out of the way so he could jump.

"Good luck!" I yelled to him. Steve did a perfect dive off the Whale and swam over to me.

"That was awesome," he said, laughing. I smiled at him.

"Come on, Loki. Jump off. It's really fun!" I encouraged the god, who was sitting at the edge of the Whale.

"Alright. But how do I do it? Do I just jump?"

"Yeah. Do anything, as long as it'll get you off the rock and into the water."

"I'm trusting you, so if I die, it's all on you and the Captain."

"Why me?" Steve asked Loki.

"Because you were encouraging me, too."

"Fine. Just jump."

Loki began climbing the rock, and when he got to the top, he froze.

"Loki, Loki, Loki...!" I began cheering. Steve laughed. I saw Loki smile, then he jumped. But he didn't just jump. Loki did some sort of front flip with a turn in the air before he hit the water. He came back up and laughed at us. I heard Tony and Bruce cheering from the beach. Steve and I were frozen with our mouths open.

"I'm heading out. Do you want to join me?" Loki swam past us and exited the water. Steve and I shared eye contact before talking about what Loki just did.

Loki reached our spot on the beach and was greeted with clapping from Tony, Thor, and Bruce. Loki bowed and then grabbed his towel.

"Nice flip, Reindeer Games," Tony said to the dark-haired god.

"I didn't know you could do that, brother."

"Eheh. Let's just say that there are a few things you don't know about me, Thor."

Loki passed Bruce on the way to his seat. He smiled at the doctor.

"Very nice, Loki," Bruce said quietly to him. Loki laughed.

"Thank you, Dr. Banner."

"I know you're being polite, but it would be alright if you called me Bruce."

"I will keep that in mind, then."

Loki sat down in his seat. And in between his seat and mine was a blue cooler. He opened it and pulled out a can of soda.

"You like that stuff, Loki?"

"Yes. Michelle has made me taste it before, and I liked it. Thor hates it," Loki smirked at Thor.

"What's wrong with soda, big guy?"

"It burned my mouth..." Thor simply said. Bruce was listening, and he knew there was more to it than just that.

"Ha, it burned your mouth? Not only that. Thor was sputtering and nearly crying when he drank it," Loki said, enjoying his brother's embarrassment.

"It went up my nose! What was I supposed to do?"

Tony began laughing hysterically.

"Y-You were crying? Ahahahahaa!" Tony laughed. It was hard to get Bruce to laugh, but right now he was laughing hard. He still tried to cover it up by coughing.

Loki took a sip out of his soda, and smiled when he saw Thor blushing.

"You are very evil, brother," Thor told him. But he managed a smile afterwards.

"Oh, where's Michelle? I wanted her to hear this," Loki leaned up in his seat to see me and Steve still in the water.

"No. I refuse to let her hear this again. She witnessed it, for crying out loud!" Thor said.

"True. But it makes her laugh every time. Right, Thor?"

"Every single time," Thor giggled.

"Is it just me or does anyone think Michelle's laugh is... weird," Bruce spoke, "Since we're talking about her laughing."

"No, I agree with Banner. She's got some laugh."

"I think it's cute," Thor said. Loki rolled his eyes and thought, 'Does my brother always have to be the nice one?'.

"Okay, I have one supporter on this. Loki, what do you think?"

"It's just a laugh. I don't see why you care."

"I understand that it's just a laugh. But have you ever really listened to it?" Tony began,"It sounds like she's dying."

Bruce laughed.

"Either that or it sounds like she's losing oxygen," Tony then immitated my laugh... or tried to, at least. Just the embarrassing part, of course. Thor was laughing along with Bruce. Loki refused to laugh at Tony's impression.

"Am I not doing it good enough?" Tony noticed Loki not laughing.

"It's mean. You shouldn't make fun of her laugh."

"Has someone gotten a change of heart? I don't think this is the same god that tried to rule the Earth three months ago."

"I have changed, but not really in the way I hoped."

"Don't get any ideas," Bruce said.

"I'm not, Dr. Banner. You need not worry."

Just then, Thor saw Steve and I getting out of the water and walking up the sand.

"... You would? That's great! I'll have to ask them..." Thor heard me say to Steve when we got closer to the chairs.

"Hello. Loki, I didn't get to tell you how awesome that jump was. Did you guys see it?" I spoke faster than I intended. I was just so happy at this point.

"Yeah. It was cool," Bruce said. I grabbed my towel from my chair and wrapped it around my wet body. Then I sat in my chair and tightened my ponytail.

"You seem happy," Loki said to me, taking another sip out of his soda.

"I am. And I have to ask you and the guys something..."

"What?"

"I need them to hear me, too. Hold on."

I straightened myself before clearing my throat.

"Guys?"

They all looked at me. Steve knew what was coming, so he smiled.

"I already discussed this with Steve, but I wanted to get your approval."

"Shoot," Tony said.

"My grandparents own a house out here in Reeves. It's not far from here at all. And my parents talked with them, and they knew I was coming to the beach with you guys today. So, if you want... my grandparents say it's fine with them if you stay over for the night. I'm offering it to you guys. And if it's too much of a problem, you don't have to. So, what do you think?"

"I would love to," Tony said.

"If it's not a problem for you or your family... I accept," Thor smiled at me.

"I have no where to be. I'll love to visit your family," Loki said.

"I already agreed," Steve and I exchanged glances. I was now waiting for Bruce.

"Bruce? Do you want to stay over?" I asked him.

"Um... I really don't want to cause any problems..."

"What problems could you cause? You're in a safe and quiet place. I would really appreciate it if you came."

"Come on, Brucey. It wouldn't be the same without you," Tony encouraged him to sleep over.

"You sure there won't be an issue?"

"My grandparents have a house with a total of five bathrooms, six beds (not including theirs), an attic, and a basement."

"Okay. I'm in," Bruce finally agreed. I smiled and clapped my hands together.

"Yay! And my grandma will make dinner. So, you guys won't starve."

"What do we call them? Because I really don't want to address them as Michelle's grandparents," Loki said. 'He made a good point,' I thought.

"Umm... I guess Mr. and Mrs. Osojnak is fine."

"Heh, do you have special names for them? Like, nanna or pop, or something?" Tony snickered.

"Yes, but it's not those."

"What are their names?" Thor asked.

"Just call them by their last name."

"No, you misunderstood me. I meant their nicknames."

"You'll see when I address them in front of you guys. I promise."

"Does anyone have the time?" Steve asked. None of us had watches on. But then I remembered bringing my phone. I reached in my bag and pulled it out.

"It's 6:48. Wow, it's getting late. I'm usually off the beach by seven. And then I go back to the house and eat at, like, eight or later."

"So, do you wanna get going?" Steve said.

"I think so. But it'll take a while to get everything packed, so just chill."

"Wait, we still didn't play King of the Rock!" Tony exclaimed, "Who's with me?"

He stood up, ready to run to the water. Loki and Thor stood up almost simultaneously.

"Steve? Bruce?" Tony asked them.

"I'll go if Dr. Banner goes," Steve replied to Tony's offer.

"Banner, please play. It'll be fun."

"Yeah, but it's King of the Rock, Tony. That's fighting."

"I know. You'll be fine."

"Go ahead, Bruce. I'll go in with you. Remember what I said earlier?" I whispered to Bruce. He smiled.

"I... don't think so," he whispered back.

"Come on. Barely anyone's here. It's only us that'll be looking at you."

"Fine," Bruce said so everyone could hear. I smiled at him.

"You guys are gonna regret this," Bruce said and slipped off his shirt. He didn't look bad at all. I threw my towel back on my chair and headed with The Avengers to the water. Bruce ended up bringing up the rear, and I slowed down to walk next to him.

"God, how do you walk on these rocks?" he asked me. I giggled.

"You get used to it. And you look fine," I poked his chest. Bruce smiled.

"You still have your glasses on," I pointed out to him. He took them off.

"Right... Can you hold them for me while I whip each of their asses?"

"Sure," I smiled. Bruce handed me his glasses and headed into the water with the rest of them. I pointed the rock out to all of them. Thor found it first and stood up on it.

Seeing The Avengers and Loki standing on the Pancake rock was quite a sight. First off, they were all shirtless. Second, they all had smiles on their faces, which was pleasant. And I could tell that they were having fun. I stood with my ankles in the water, watching them.

Tony counted to three, and soon there was a whole brawl ensuing on the rock. Loki was off first, being thrown off the rock by Thor. He walked over to me with a defeated expression on his face. I was giggling at him.

"I shouldn't have been paired with him. It wasn't fair. And now I'm all wet, and I don't even get to be king."

"You are king. You're the king of getting out first," I laughed. Loki playfully nudged my shoulder.

On the rock, Bruce shoved Steve roughly in the chest, which caused him to fall backwards... taking Tony out with him.

"That's so cheap!" Tony yelled and splashed at Steve.

"Can it, Stark. I'm out, too."

They swam over to Loki and I, each giving the other nasty looks.

"Don't fight over this, guys. There's not even a prize."

"Yeah, there is. It's being able to brag about it," Tony argued.

"Fine. My money's on Bruce."

"What? Are you kidding me? It's Goldie Locks all the way," Tony said.

"Well, who managed to throw both you and Steve out?"

Tony was silent. We all watched as Thor locked up with Bruce.

"He better not Hulk-out," I said.

"Ow!" I heard Thor screech. Bruce was tugging on his hair.

"Dr. Banner, I believe that's cheating!" Loki yelled out to him. Bruce immediately let go. Thor shoved Bruce's shoulders and clutched his aching head.

"Sorry, Thor."

"It's alright, Dr. Banner. It was 'in the moment', yes?"

"Yeah."

"Enough talk, more fight!" Tony yelled.

"Can I quit?" Bruce asked us.

"No!" Tony and I shouted back at him.

"Continue, Dr. Banner," Thor said so only Bruce could hear. Bruce sighed, but continued fighting Thor. At one point, Thor managed to knock the doctor off his feet. Thor then tried to push Bruce off the side of the rock. But Bruce countered and somehow flipped Thor into the water. Bruce won. He gave Thor a handshake when he emerged from under water. Thor was laughing.

"Well done."

"Thanks. Good game, Thor."

Bruce stood up on the rock with one hand thrust into the air. Then, he dove off the rock and walked to us.

"Congrats," I told him and hugged his wet body.

Bruce got other congratulations and one complaint from Tony before we all headed back to our things on the sand. I helped back everything up, and we were soon heading back up the beach to the ramp.

"This was a really fun day, guys. Thanks for coming," I told The Avengers as we started walking up the ramp.

"Thanks for having us," Steve answered.

We reached the top of the ramp, and this is where we had to split up.

"See you guys at the house? I'll tell you the address," I said to mainly Tony.

"Wait, how'd you two get here?"

"We took the Hampton Jitney from the city. And it brought us to the parking lot. We can walk back."

"No. I have room in my ride. Come with us," Tony offered. He pointed to the huge, 2014 SUV parked in one of the lot spaces.

"You sure?" I said.

"Of course. I'll probably need you to tell me where the house is, anyway."

"Alright. Thank you."

All of us put our things in the trunk of Tony's car, and we squeezed inside. Tony was driving with Steve in the passenger seat. Then it was Thor, me, and Bruce in the second row, with me squished between the two. And in the back was Loki. There was a pull out seat that was available for him.

We drove to the house and pulled up in the driveway. This was it. My grandparents were about to meet The Avengers, who are also my friends.

~The End~


	2. After The Beach

So, The Avengers, Loki, and I arrived at my grandparents house after our day at the beach. I had so much fun, and I hope they did, too.

I was actually really nervous of how the superheroes and former villian would act around my grandma and grandpa. Tony pulled up in the driveway, and everyone was silent. They were all staring at the house in front of them.

"I think I should go in first," I said. Steve turned his head to look at me.

"Why?" he asked me.

"Because I need to give them a heads up of what you guys really are like."

"That's nice..." Bruce said sarcastically and smiled at me.

"Please, guys. Just stay, like, outside the car or something. Empty out the cooler... do something, is my point. I'll come back out and get you guys."

"I agree that this is the best thing to do," Thor said.

"Thanks. Uh, Thor I need you to get out so I can go out," I told him and unbuckled my seatbelt. Thor looked at the door curiously. I sighed and opened the door for him. He stepped out and I jumped out as well.

"Now, stay here," I told them again, but I shared eye-contact with Tony. He grinned. I could tell he was gonna pull something. I walked down the small path to the front door. I fixed my hair and rang the bell.

My grandma opened the door and greeted me.

"Oh, Michelle! How wonderful to see you," she hugged me. I returned the hug.

"Hi, Noni," I said to her. That was my nickname for her.

"And this is?" Noni nodded her head to the doorway. I turned around and saw Tony smiling down at me.

"This is Tony Stark," I introduced him.

"Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Osojnak," Tony bowed his head.

"Nice to meet you, too. Call me Frances," my grandma hugged him, as well. I chuckled at Tony's stunned face.

"Let me get your grandfather. He's in the basement," Noni told me, giving me a squeeze on the shoulder. She opened the door to the basement and descended the stairs.

"Noni?" Tony smirked at me.

"Shut up," I pushed his arm, "You wanna get the others for me?"

"Sure," Tony left the house to retrieve The Avengers and Loki.

I sat down in a green chair in the living room that I used to spin around in when I was a young girl, in my grandparents old house. They've only lived in this new house after they knocked the old one down about two years ago.

Just then, Thor walked in with his brother behind him. Loki looked around.

"What a lovely castle. But it's a bit small," Thor said. I smiled and stood up.

"It's not exactly a castle. But it is very neat, and pretty big for my standards. Since I live in an apartment."

"I like it," Loki said, walking into the living room. He examined the green chair.

"It's made of wonderful colors," he smiled. I laughed. Pretty much the whole living room and dining room had green walls. Even the outside of the house was green.

Tony walked in next followed by Bruce and Steve.

"The house is very nice," Bruce said.

I heard someone coming up the basement stairs. Noni emerged carrying a couple packages of chicken breasts. I had a feeling of what she was going to make for dinner. She smiled at everyone crowded in the hallway.

"Hello," she greeted The Avengers. Loki was still in the living room, being blocked from view by a wall.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Steve said, "Do you need help with that?" He was talking about the chicken breasts.

"No thank you. I can do it. I'll say hello to everyone in a second. Let me just put these down. Jack, come up!" Noni yelled to my grandpa who was still downstairs. I saw Loki peek his head around the wall to see the commotion. My grandmother went into the kitchen.

"So it's Frances and Jack?" Tony asked me. I nodded. My grandfather was heard stomping up the steps a few seconds later.

"Hello," he said once he closed the door behind him after reaching the middle floor.

"Hi, Gabu," I said to him and we hugged. I couldn't see it, but Tony was smiling widely.

"How have you been? You good?" my grandpa asked me.

"Good," I replied, "These are my friends. The ones my mom told you might be coming."

"Yes. Hello there," Gabu waved to them.

"Thank you for having us over," Steve said.

"Oh, it's no problem. Fanny, did you greet everyone?" my grandfather called to my grandma.

"Yeah. I'm coming, I'm coming..." Noni appeared in the living room, where everyone eventually migrated to.

"You met Tony..." I said.

"I'm Bruce."

"My name is Steve. Nice to meet you."

There was a silence.

"And this is Thor," I had to introduce him to my grandparents, "And Loki."

Thor bowed in front of my grandma and said, "Good to meet you."

Loki grinned when my grandmother looked at him.

"Hello," he said.

"Very nice to meet all of you. Now, I'm gonna make dinner. You can all clean up and get comfortable," Noni said to all of them and headed back in the kitchen.

"Make yourself at home. Michelle, can you tell them where everything is?," my grandpa said and looked at me.

"Yeah. I'll show them everything."

"Thank you," he said and headed to the kitchen with Noni.

"Noni _and _Gabu... What unique names," Tony chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright. How are we gonna do this?" I said mostly to myself, "Okay..."

I gathered The Avengers and Loki around me before I spoke, "There's a bathroom downstairs where somone can shower. Then there's one in that room and another upstairs. That means only three people can shower at a time. I'll get those three set up first. Who wants to go?"

"I will," Bruce said, "I take quick showers."

"Me, too," Thor said.

"And I guess I will go, as well," Loki folded his arms across his chest.

"Great. Tony and Steve, just stay here while I set them up. Okay?"

"Fine with me," Tony answered. I showed Bruce to his shower first, since it was on the floor we were on. It was a yellow room with a bed that could be pulled out and made bigger.

"There are towels in this closet," I explained to Bruce when we entered together, "And the bathroom is in there. Everything that you probably need is in there. And did you bring a change of clothes?"

"Yeah, we all packed an extra outfit for after the beach. But mine is kinda... not for sleep."

"Oh... Well, I'm sure my grandpa won't mind if you borrow some of his clothes."

"No, I can't do that..."

"It's fine. I'll ask him."

"Thank you. But if he says no, I'll make due with what I have."

"Okay. You all good here?"

"Yeah, I think you told me everything I needed to know. Thanks."

"Okay. I'll go help the gods, now. I'll see how that goes."

Bruce giggled. I left him alone in the room and met up with Thor and Loki in the living room.

"Loki, come with me."

I went upstairs with the God of Mischief close behind me.

"This will be where you shower," I pointed to the only bathroom on that floor, besides the one in the master bedroom.

"Alright. It will do."

"It better because it's either this or the one in the basement. And that one isn't very pretty."

"Hehe. Thank you."

"Alright. Towels are in this small closet behind the door. Sorry that they're all kind of small. And shampoo and soap is already in the shower. And to turn it on," I walked in the bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open more so Loki could see what I was doing, "You pull down this thing. Then turn the handle to the left to make it hot and the right to make it cooler. Can you handle that?"

"Yes."

"Great. Now, do you have extra clothes?"

"Yes. They are downstairs."

"Okay. Can you get them while I help Thor?"

"Of course. Does he get the bathroom in the basement?" Loki smiled.

"Yeah."

Loki laughed and said, "Wonderful."

I went downstairs again and took Thor with me to the basement. I showed him the towels, and how to turn on the shower.

"Do you have clothes to wear to bed? Like, pijamas?"

"Uh, possibly. I wear them to sleep if that's what you mean."

"Yes. I said what you wear to bed. It's the same thing."

"Sorry. And yes, they're upstairs."

"Okay. Get them and then come back down."

"I will. Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome," I said and headed back upstairs with Thor. He got everything he needed and went to the basement again. I sighed and plopped down on the couch in the living room. Tony chuckled at me.

"Do you guys have extra clothes?"

"I always come prepared."

"I don't," Steve admitted.

"You can use some of my grandfather's clothes. Oh, speaking of which, I'll ask him about Bruce, too," I stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Need help with something?" my grandpa asked me.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you have extra clothes for Bruce and Steve. They didn't really pack pijamas."

"Umm... Let me think."

I waited until Gabu spoke, "Yeah. I have clothes for them. Do you want them now?"

"Yes, please."

"You're going to tell me what would fit them because I don't know which is which at the moment," Gabu chortled and started walking toward the stairs. I followed him until we were both in his room. I heard the water running in the bathroom, which meant that Loki turned it on successfully.

"I have big and medium sized shirts. Which do you think they would it in?"

"I don't know. Can I see both?"

"Sure."

Gabu searched through his drawers until he pulled out navy, black, and light blue shirts. I saw that the smallest one would fit Bruce.

"I think the light blue for Bruce. And the navy for Steve," I told him.

"Alright. You take those. And I'll look for pants," he handed me the shirts and looked in his drawers once more.

"Do you have stretchy pants? I know Bruce likes those," I said to Gabu. He froze for a second.

"Yeah. I have plenty."

He pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants that looked long enough for Steve.

"Those are good for Steve."

"Okay," my grandpa said and handed it to me.

"How stretchy do you want? Because I have pants with a lot of elastic in them and I have pants that aren't too stretchy."

"The really stretchy ones are fine," I said just as a precaution.

The pants were black. I took them, thanked him and headed back downstairs.

"Steve, is this outfit good for you?"

"Yeah. It looks fine. Thank you," Steve took the pants and shirt from my arms.

"Thank my grandpa, too."

"Don't you mean Gabu?" Tony teased me. I knew this was going to end badly.

I made a mock-baby noise and walked to the room Bruce was in. I knocked, though it was very unlikey he heard me. The bathroom had another door for itself, so I figured it would be closed. I stepped inside the room.

"Bruce?" I said.

"Yeah?" I heard him shout from the bathroom. I didn't hear the water running, so I thought he was done.

"I have your clothes. I'm gonna leave them on the bed, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problem," I said and left.

"Who's going next?" I said to Tony and Steve sitting in the living room.

"I'll go. Which bathroom? Banner's?" Tony said.

"Yeah. Towels are on the bottom shelf in the closet in there. And you can figure out how to turn on the shower, right?"

"Probably."

"Great. You can go in when Bruce leaves the room. I didn't hear the water, so I guess he's done. And Steve... You can go into whatever bathroom is out of use first. I'll show you how to operate the stuff."

"Okay. Thank you."

All of a sudden, ''Michelle!" came from upstairs. I ran to the bottom of the steps and answered, "Yeah?'

"Come up here! I can't turn the water off," Loki yelled from the upstairs bathroom.

"Okay, I'm coming," I said after I shot a laughing Tony a glare. I knocked on the bathroom door once I got there.

"Come in," came Loki's voice from inside. I entered and saw him with a towel wrapped around his waist. It fit him okay because he was thin, but it was short for someone his height.

"I can't... turn it off," he said to me, pointing at the shower handle.

"It's even labeled 'off', you know that?" I held the handle in my right hand, "You just turn it all the way to the right and it shuts off."

"Ohhh. That makes sense, actually. Because I turned it the other way to get the hot water..."

"Yeaaah," I said sarcastically and in a mocking voice. Loki laughed quickly.

"Thank you for your assistence."

"Welcome. Just make sure you're fully dressed before you come downstairs."

"Will do."

I left the bathroom and went back downstairs. I entered the living room and saw that Tony was missing.

"Where's Tony?" I asked Steve who was still there.

"Thor came out of the shower first, so he went downstairs."

"Okay... So where's Thor, then? Did he come up?"

"I didn't see him."

"Oh God..."

I turned around and opened the door to the basement. I headed down the stairs and once I got to the bottom, I looked around. I heard the water running for Tony in the bathroom.

"Thor?" I called his name.

"Yes?" I heard him answer. I walked around the staircase and saw him near my grandparents' beach stuff.

"Oh, I was just wondering where you were," I said. He had his pijamas on, and even they looked godly. But it wasn't made of any special material. Just cotton, I guessed. But the fabric seemed to shimmer in the light. Most of the outfit was gray and dark blue.

"What are these?" Thor pointed to long rods leaned up against the wall.

"They're fishing poles. You go down to the beach and throw the line in the water then wait to catch fish."

"Magnificent. And why is this one so bright in color?" Thor pointed to my fishing pole, which was pink.

"That's mine. I got it a while ago, and I thought it looked nice."

"It is. It's different from the others."

"Thanks. And, uh, I kind of need you to come upstairs. I want to make sure every Avenger and god is where they're supposed to be."

"Very well, then. You are the mistress of the house."

"Actually my grandmother is."

Thor chuckled as I lead him upstairs. In the living room now were Steve and Bruce. Bruce looked fine in my grandfather's clothes.

"Thanks for waiting, Steve. You can come with me now," I said, "Thor, just sit here with Bruce."

"I will."

I lead Steve to the bathroom Bruce used. Steve put the clothes from my grandpa on the bed and followed me into the bathroom. I showed him how to turn on the water, and then I went back in the room and pointed to where the towels were kept.

"Thank you, Michelle."

"No problem. You got everything, now?"

"Yeah. I think I'll be okay," Steve smiled at me.

I left the room headed to the living room, but I happened to look upstairs. The bathroom door that Loki used was open, and there didn't seem to be anyone inside. I walked up the stairs and went into the bathroom. It was empty. Then, I walked to the bedroom I usually sleep in with my brother and mom. Loki jumped when he saw me.

"You startled me."

"Sorry. But what are you doing in here?"

"This thing caught my attention," Loki pointed to my brother's Xbox.

"Yeah, that's an Xbox. It's a video game player. My brother, Steven, always plays that. I _would_ teach you how to play later, but even I don't know how to play his games."

"It's alright. It just looked interesting to me."

"Come downstairs for a second. I want to make sure everyone goes to the living room when they're finished."

"Fine with me."

Loki and I walked downstairs, and I saw that Tony was now clean and dressed.

"What were you doing up there, Loki?" Tony asked the god.

"I was looking at something Michelle called the X-box," Loki looked at me to see if he pronounced it right.

"You have an Xbox and you didn't tell me?" Tony said.

"It's my brother's, so I don't want any of you to touch it. He'll kill me if you mess it up. And plus, he just got it a couple weeks ago. He only has three games."

"Which games?"

"Two Batman games and one driving game that came with the Xbox."

"Batman, like from the comic books?" Bruce asked me.

"Yeah. Sort of."

"Sounds cool. Can I play?" Tony asked.

"No! Did I not already explain to you why you _can't_ touch it?"

"Yeah, but I won't do anything to it. I'll help him in the game, even. What's his name, Steven? He won't mind."

"Yes, he will. You cannot play the Xbox. That's it."

"Whatever," Tony reclined in the couch. Loki sat down in the available space on the same couch. I stood at the doorway to the living room.

"How come you did not cleanse yourself?" Thor asked me.

"Because I have to make sure all of you guys are good first."

"We're not children, Michelle," Tony said.

"Yeah, but I don't want any of you guys breaking my grandparents' bathrooms!"

Steve walked out of the room he took a shower in at that moment.

"Why are you screaming?" he said.

"Relax. I wasn't that loud. Okay... all of you have to stay in here, while I shower. I don't want any problems. Okay?"

I got a few mumbled 'okays' and a 'yes' from Steve and Thor. A nod of the head from Loki.

I turned around and quickly ran up the stairs.

"When she's in the shower, who wants to play the Xbox with me?" Tony said.

"Tony, she said no, like, fifty times. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want us touching it," Bruce said.

"I would like to watch..." Loki said and grinned.

"Great. The God of _Mischief _is on my side. Anyone else?"

"I still have not seen what this Xbox is," Thor said, "I'll join you."

"Awesome. Just when she goes in the shower we can play. Steve and Bruce, it's a no?"

"No, Tony. You shouldn't even be playing it," Steve shook his head.

"I know. But that's what makes it fun," Tony smiled, "I'm gonna she if she's in the shower yet."

Tony walked upstairs and heard the water running. He went back downstairs and told Thor and Loki to follow him. They all walked carefully up the stairs and down the hallway to the room with the Xbox. On the way there, Thor heard me singing from the shower. He chuckled.

"What's so funny, blondie?" Tony said.

"Listen," Thor said and pointed to the door. Tony leaned his ear against it. He nearly laughed loudly when he heard me singing "When I'm Sixty-Four" by The Beatles. I had no clue that they were upstairs, listening to me. Loki's smile grew as he continued listening.

"She's not bad," Loki said.

"I know. That's what makes it cool," Tony said, "Let's leave her alone. I want to play that Xbox."

Loki walked into the correct room and Thor and Tony followed. Tony picked out the game he wanted, which happened to be "Batman: Arkham Asylum". He put the disc in the Xbox and grabbed the controller. Loki and Thor sat on different beds, watching Tony play.

"What is the object of the game?" Loki asked when Tony started beating up thugs in the game.

"You try to beat up bad guys, and then find clues to get you to the big guy. Kind of like how we beat you," Tony smirked.

"Ha-ha," Loki rolled his eyes, "You know, I still have back problems after being thrown around by that beast inside Dr. Banner."

Tony laughed hard, but then got shot by one of the hostiles in the game.

"Crap!" he yelled. Thor was staring at the screen with much interest. The Joker's commentary was starting to get annoying. Suddenly, Tony's life had depleted and Batman fell to the floor. They saw The Joker appear out of the darkness and make a smart remark about his death.

"He looks strange," Thor said.

"Yeah, that's The Joker. The best villian in comic book history."

"That Joker has a very amusing voice," Loki said.

"I know. That's what makes him awesome."

Tony restarted that level and continued playing. He spoke to a guard or two, and then had to figure out how to get to The Joker's hideout.

I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying myself with a small towel I took out of the closet. I heard some sort of yelling and 'bam' sounds, but I just figured it was the TV from downstairs. I wrapped the towel the best I could around my body, and opened the door. I took one step out, and gasped. I ran back inside the bathroom and shut the door. I saw Tony, Loki, and Thor all in the room my clothes were in.

"Those bastards," I said to myself. Tony was proably playing the Xbox.

"You know, Stark, I believe Michelle saw us," Loki told Tony after he saw me hide in the bathroom.

"I saw her, too. I'll just pause the game. And that towel was _short_," Tony grinned and paused his game.

"Shall I get her?" Thor offered.

"Why not," Tony said.

Thor stood up and knocked on the door of the bathroom.

"Michelle?" he said.

"What?"

"You can come out. We're sorry for not obeying you. Tony stopped his game, I believe."

"The real reason I didn't want you to play the Xbox right now is because my clothes are in there."

"Oh... I'm sorry. Do you want me to get them for you?"

"Yes, please. But, just bring the whole bag. It's the blue duffel bag."

"Alright."

Thor walked back in the room and saw my bag on the floor.

"What did she say?" Tony asked the god.

"She needs her clothes."

"We embarassed her, Stark," Loki said.

"I know. Tell her that I'm sorry."

"Sure," Thor said and picked up the blue bag. He walked back over to the bathroom and knocked again.

"I have your bag."

I opened the door slightly, but it was a big bag, so I would have to open it more. I did, and Thor looked at me.

"You look fine," he smiled.

"Thank you for the bag," I said kind of rudely and took it from him. I shut the door immediately. My face was burning up at this point.

"Oh, Tony apologizes."

"Don't care."

Thor walked back in the room with Tony and Loki.

"She said she didn't ca-"

"I heard."

"I think it would be best if we leave," Loki said.

"I agree," his brother followed up with that.

"No, I wanna apologize to her face."

"Do it downstairs," Loki said.

"No."

"Fine, then I guess I will go downstairs and stay out of trouble for now," Loki stood up and got to the doorway when I walked out of the bathroom, dressed. I had my duffel bag in my hands, and I glared at Loki. I pushed past him and dropped my bag on the floor in the room everyone was in.

"So, that's what your hair looks like down," Tony commented and folded his arms on his lap after sitting on the bigger bed in the room. I pushed my wet and slightly curly hair out of my face.

"No, it looks fine."

I didn't believe him because I knew it looked bad. To get to my hair ties, I had to go to a tiny dresser between the two beds. I started that way quickly, but Tony grabbed my waist with one arm and held me back.

"Let go," I writhed in his arm, but spoke calmly.

"You're hair is fine. It's not bad. And I can see what you mean by curly," Tony grabbed one lock of hair that started curling because it was getting dry already, "What do you think, Loki? You were asking about her hair, too, right?"

"It''s beautiful," Loki smiled.

"Stop. I need to get that," I reached my hand out to see if I could reach my hairband. Tony pulled me back again, but this time I landed on his lap. I whined and stood up as quickly as I could.

"I'm sorry about not listening to you. I really wanted to annoy you, but I didn't want to see you sad about this. I'm sorry," Tony apologized. I turned my head to give him a bad look.

"Let me go, and maybe I'll forgive you."

"Deal," Tony let go of me and I grabbed my hair tie right away. I pulled back my hair into a ponytail.

"No, don't put it up. It looks good," Loki stepped in and grabbed my arm gently.

"Stop," I shook my arm out of his grasp, "You're all asses."

Tony chuckled. I finally tightened my low ponytail and sighed. I headed for the door, but again, Tony grabbed me. I screamed and whined. He kissed my cheek.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop!"

I really wasn't planning to forgive him. Maybe later, when I was in a better mood. I stood and walked out of the room.

"You can't sweet talk her, Stark," Loki told Tony.

"I know. That's the only reason I like her. All of the other girls I was with always fall for that stuff."

"Even Pepper?" Thor asked him.

"Especially Pepper. I like Michelle because she can take shit. She's cool."

"Let's head downstairs," Loki said and exited the room. Thor followed him, and last Tony. At one point down the stairs, Tony pushed Thor. Thor stumbled forward and nearly took his brother down with him. Tony was laughing.

They all finally entered the living room in one piece. I immediately stood up from the chair I was in and headed into the kitchen.

"You really pissed her off this time, Tony," Bruce told the billionaire when Tony sat down in the chair I was in.

"I know. I apologized, though," Tony explained. Loki saw that Tony was really upset about me being mad at him.

After I had walked into the kitchen, I saw my grandmother piling the now cooked chicken breasts onto a big plate. She made chicken cutlets, and my grandfather made mashed potatoes and broccoli: my favorite meal of theirs.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello, Michelle. Your friends seem so nice. And tall," Noni chuckled. I smiled.

"Do you want me to set the table?" I offered.

"Yes, please."

Noni momentarily stopped taking out the chicken from the frying pan to give me eight plates, and a lot of forks and knives.

"Here. You know where to put everything, right?"

"Yeah."

"I know you do. You're a smart girl."

I took all that stuff and placed it down on the table. Then, I proceeded to give everyone seperate utensils and plates. Then, I grabbed the napkin holder my grandparents had and placed that on the table. I took eight and laid them at each place setting. I could feel Loki and Steve's eyes on me as I was working because they were sitting on the couch that faced the dining room. When I finished, I went back to the kitchen.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"You can tell everyone to come to the table. Dinner's almost ready," Noni told me.

"Okay."

I walked back to the living room and announced to everyone, "Dinner is almost served. You can go sit anywhere, really. Oh, just don't sit in that seat," I pointed to the head of the table at one end, "My grandpa sits there."

Everyone stood up slowly and quietly. I saw Tony look at me for a while before he finally stood up. I didn't look back at him. I headed into the dining room and took my normal seat to the right of one of the heads of the table. It ended up being Steve at the head of the table near me. Then next to me was Loki, followed by Bruce. Across from Loki was Thor, and then across from Bruce was Tony. My grandma would sit in front of me, and my grandfather would be at the other head.

My grandparents brought the food to the table and they soon sat down. Most of the people at the table had iced tea to drink from a pitcher my grandpa made earlier. Loki and I had soda with our dinner. Bruce had water. I was glad that my grandparents didn't serve beer or wine to any of them. Drunk Avengers would not be good.

I grinned when I saw my grandmother give Thor a strange look when he picked up his chicken cutlet with his hands and eat it. Loki gave his brother a disgusted look. Noni stood up a minute after to get something from the kitchen. I whispered to Thor.

"Use your fork and kife, Thor."

I saw Bruce silently laugh, and Tony smirk at Thor.

"I apologize."

Thor then tried to use his fork and knife. The cutlet slid off his plate a couple times, but he eventually got the hang of it. Noni was pleased. Steve and Loki ate the neatest out of all of us. They were trained gentlemen.

"What do all of you do for a living?" my grandpa asked to start up some sort of dinner conversation. I waited for someone to start off.

"I'm a veteran of sorts," Steve said. 'Oh God. Here we go,' I thought, and chewed my food faster so I could maybe step in and save him.

"Wow. From what war?"

Steve glanced at me before answering, "World War II."

'Oh no,' my thoughts rang through my body. My grandpa looked at him strangely.

"You look kind of young for that war."

"I get that a lot. But I was a super soldier project. And stuff happened and I ended up being frozen for seventy years."

The whole table was dead silent. No joke, I could even hear the crickets outside. Noni and Gabu then looked at me.

"I'll explain later," I whispered to them, "And, um... Thor and Loki work for ConEdison. They make a good amount of money, I think."

I gave the two gods you-better-go-along-with-this-or-else looks.

"Loki and I are actually brothers," Thor said. Loki closed his eyes for a second and shook his head.

"Really... and how'd you get those names?"

"Our parents were very strict believers of the Norse culture. They decided to name us after the God of Thunder and the God of Mischief," Loki saved both he and Thor's asses.

"Very cool," my grandma said, "And you?"

Noni acknowledged Bruce.

"I'm a doctor. I could also be a scientist because I study gamma radiation."

"Wow."

Last was Tony. I was dreading his answer because I knew it would probably be obnoxious... and true.

"I, uh... I am an inventor, you could say. I am the head of Stark Industries."

"I've heard of them. You recently opened a building in the city, right?" my grandpa asked him.

"Yes, we did."

"Aren't you extremely rich?"

"I am a billionaire, yes."

Noni gasped and looked over at him.

"We haven't known a billionaire before. You must be very sucessful."

"Yeah, my company is doing well."

"Congratulations," she said.

"Thank you," Tony looked at me quickly, and I was caught in his eyesight. I quickly looked down at my food.

"And I'm sure Michelle has told you that she is going to St. Francis Prep for high school after the summer," my grandmother smiled at me. I curled my lips together and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, we know that she's very smart," Bruce said.

"Good in science, too, right?" Tony smiled, looking at his plate.

"I guess so," I said shyly. I really didn't enjoy being embarassed by them.

"What was your average? 103?" Tony continued, this time looking at me. Noni's eyes lit up.

"Yes, your mother told us all of your grades, and your grandfather and I were so proud."

"Thanks."

"Keep up the good work," Gabu said to me.

"I will," I smiled mostly out of embarrassment. I felt my ears burning. Loki nudged me and smiled. I speared another piece of chicken with my fork from my plate and ate it. I could tell that Tony was relishing this because he could basically bring up anything he wants about me, and I couldn't do anything about it.

"What was Michelle like when she was younger?" Tony asked. I inhaled, trying to steady my breathing.

"She was... hehehe," my grandfather chuckled, "A handful."

"No, she was a good girl. But you did cause trouble."

I made a fake smile.

"And you were very cute," my grandma finished. I played around with my mashed potatoes. Loki smiled widely down at me.

"I bet you were cute," Loki whispered to me. I looked at him for a second before staring at my almost empty plate. I was getting full, honestly. I ate one more piece of broccoli before speaking.

"May I be excused? I'm kinda full."

"Absolutely. Put your plate in the sink, please," Noni said.

"I know," I returned and grabbed my plate and empty soda can. I put my plate with the utensils in the sink and rinsed them. Then, I put my can in the recycling.

"Thank you for dinner. It was very good," I said before going upstairs.

"I think I embarassed her," Tony chuckled.

"You think?" Bruce said.

"It's okay. She'll come back down later," Noni said to them, "Anyone want more?"

My grandma gestured to the food.

"I think I'll go for more potatoes. Everything is wonderful," Bruce said. He stood up to reach for the spoon to serve himself some more mashed potatoes.

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it. Jack made the potatoes."

My grandpa nodded his head because he was chewing.

"They're very good," Bruce said to him now. Noni looked at Loki for a second. She noticed that his plate was empty.

"Would you like more?" she asked him. Loki looked at her and smiled.

"No thank you. I have had quite enough."

"Then, you can be excused."

"No. I've been brought up to wait until everyone is finished. Thank you, though."

"Alright."

Steve and Tony were still happily eating their first plates of food.

"Michelle has never really mentioned you to us before. Well, I guess it never came up," my grandpa said. The Avengers and Loki looked up.

"She hasn't?" this seemed to bother Tony.

"No. I guess she didn't want to brag, you know. You're so friendly," Gabu smiled. Bruce and Loki chuckled.

"Thank you. She is a very sweet girl. We all like her very much," Steve said.

"Is she shy around you?" Noni asked them, "Because she used to be very shy. But she's gotten better. Right, Jack?"

"Yup."

"No, she's not shy. Well, on certain subjects, she gets quiet. But that's really it," Steve answered.

"She has a good singing voice," Tony said. Noni laughed.

"Yes, we hear her all the time singing on the computer. She's talented."

"How do you know she can sing?" Bruce asked.

"We heard her upstairs before," Loki answered for Tony.

"What do you mean talented? She can do more than sing?" Thor asked my grandmother.

"Besides being good at school, yes. She plays an instrument. I forgot which one..."

"I believe it's a clarinet," my grandpa helped out Noni.

"That's it, a clarinet. And she is artistic. She makes us beautiful cards every time we have a special event. And Michelle is a very talented writer."

"I didn't know she writes..." Steve said.

"I think the clarinet came up before. But I didn't know the other things," Tony leaned back in his chair after wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Everything was great. But I think I'm done. Thank you very much," Tony grinned at my grandparents and stood up.

"You're welcome."

Tony walked to the stairs, but washed his hands in the bathroom Bruce and Steve took showers in first.

"I think I'm done, too," Bruce said, "Thank you."

"Me, as well," Steve stood up, "Oh, please excuse me."

"Of course. Thank you for enjoying everything."

Bruce and Steve left the table and headed to the stairs, like Tony. But they stopped when they saw Tony on the third or fourth step up. He told them to be quiet by putting a finger over his lips.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, but whispered.

"Listen..." Tony pointed upstairs. I was on the computer, checking my e-mail while "Silly Love Songs", a Glee cover, was playing. I was also singing along. I didn't know anyone was listening again.

Just then, Thor came around the same corner and saw the three of them gatherd there. He heard me singing and joined them.

"... Love doesn't come in a minute! Sometimes it doesn't come at all. I only know that when I'm in it. It isn't silly. No it isn't silly. Love isn't silly at all!" I hit the last note pretty well.

"You can be excused, Loki. It's fine," my grandmother said to him back at the dinner table.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least let me help you clear the table," Loki said and stood up. He grabbed his plate, utensils, and his soda can. He did what I did with them, then helped my grandmother clear the table. My grandpa was a slow eater, so they didn't bother him. Once the table was nearly empty, my grandmother dismissed Loki.

"Thank you for helping me. I can put everything in the dishwasher now."

"Very well. Thank you for everything."

"Of course!"

Loki smiled and ended up with the other Avengers. I changed the song so "Bohemian Raphsody" by Queen was playing after the last song ended. Again, I was singing.

"What are you all doing?" Loki said in a normal voice. Tony 'shhh'd' him. Loki heard me through the silence. He snickered.

"It isn't very nice to listen to her," Loki tried to say with a straight face, but ended up grinning.

"I love this song," Tony said, "I think we should go up. I feel bad now."

"Agreed," Steve smiled, "You first."

"But she doesn't like me right now. Someone else go first."

"I will," Loki volunteered.

"Alright, Rock of Ages. It's all you," Tony gestured to the stairs. Loki squeezed past them and ascended the stairs. I heard someone coming and quickly paused my music.

"Oh, don't stop because of me. It sounded wonderful," Loki reached the top and smiled at me. I saw Steve coming up next, followed by Bruce and Thor. And I thought I saw the top of Tony's head at the bottom.

"Thanks. But I'm done, anyway," I exited out of all my pages and put the computer to sleep. I went into my bedroom next. Loki led The Avengers to follow me.

"You sing good, Michelle. You shouldn't be embarassed," Bruce said, once everyone crowded into the room with me. Thor closed the door behind him.

"I'm not..."

"Then, why did you pause your music when we came up?"

"Because I was done using the computer. Wait, how much did you guys hear?"

"_Silly Love Songs _and _Bohemian Raphsody_," Tony answered. I closed my eyes and cupped my face in my hands. Thor laughed softly at me.

"I forgive you, by the way, Tony," I said after I looked up at everyone. He smiled at me.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for spying on you. But you did sound awesome. Better than anyone I know persona- Wait, that's a lie."

"It's okay. I'm, like, the furthest thing from good."

"You have a good taste in music, though."

Thor and Loki took seats on the smaller bed in the room. I moved further up the big bed I was on to make room for everyone else. Steve sat at the foot of the bed first. Then Bruce. And Tony sat next to me.

"Sing us another verse," Tony teased.

"No."

"You like The Beatles you told me, right?" Bruce said.

"Yeah, but I'm not singing them either. Can any of you guys sing?"

They each looked at each other. I guessed that was a no.

"Come on... None of you?"

"I know who absolutely can't sing," Loki said, and looked at Thor. He grinned.

"Hehe. I know," Thor rubbed the back of his neck, "But Loki isn't too bad."

"Nooo. No, no.."

"Sing something for us, Loki," Steve smiled.

"Absolutely not."

"When we were younger, Frigga taught us songs to sing when we couldn't sleep. And Loki sang them every night."

"Be quiet," Loki snapped at Thor. The blond-haired god just laughed.

"What, you had nightmares?" Bruce said, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"No... I just felt more at peace when I heard the songs. And as we grew, Frigga no longer could sing to me. So, I made due with myself."

"Aww," Tony said, "How old were you when you stopped?"

Thor failed to stifle his laughter.

"Stohop," Loki hit him in the arm gently, once he started giggling as well.

"About seve-"

"Shut up!" Loki interrupted his brother.

"Seven?" Bruce offered. Thor laughed harder.

"Teen," Thor said through his laughter.

"THOR!" Loki yelled and full-on punched Thor in any place he could reach.

"Seventeen?" Steve asked incredulously, and began laughing. Tony and Bruce also joined in the laughter. I covered my mouth with my hand, as my body shook with silent laughter.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Soon, the whole room shook with the laughter coming from Tony, Thor, Steve, Bruce, and I. Loki pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Come on, brother! It is pretty funny," Thor nudged Loki's arm. Loki wasn't fazed. He had a dead-pan expression on his face.

"Alright. Leave him alone," I finally stepped in. The laughter soon subsided.

"We still haven't heard any singing," Tony said once the room was quiet again. He looked at me.

"I'll sing if Loki does," I said.

"Then, we'll never hear anything."

"Okay. Deal with it. I just want to go to bed," I said and rubbed my eyes.

"Are you kidding me? It's only 9:30. And I'm keeping all of you up, no matter what," Tony grinned evilly.

'Oh, this will be a very interesting night,' I thought.

~The End~


	3. The Boredom Sets In

After Tony's announcement of forcing all of us to stay up, I became nervous. I just hoped that nothing would break during the course of all of us staying awake.

"I'm still tired," I said to see if anyone cared.

"Okay. But now it's 9:45. Really? You can't stay up any later than this?" Tony said, amazed at my lack of energy.

"I usually want to go to bed right about now."

"Well, what do you do with your girl friends when you have sleepovers with them?" Bruce asked.

"I've honestly only been to one sleepover in my entire life. And that one was pretty hectic."

Loki tried to muffle a laugh that crept up on his lips.

"I-I'm sorry," he said, now smiling, "How hectic?"

"There was a party, where boys were invited... and then the sleepover only had girls."

"Hey, but we're guys," Tony said.

"I know. That's the bad part of the whole story. The boys."

"Okay. Forget the sleepover remark, then," Bruce folded his hands.

"But no one else is tired? After spending a whole say at the beach?"

Everyone either shook their head or said 'no'. I groaned and leaned back into the pillows behind me.

"You're not a fun hostess for a party," Tony prodded my arm.

"This isn't a party. I just had you guys sleep over so it would be less of a hassle for everyone to have to drive home right after the beach."

"Movie?" Steve suggested as something we could do.

"I didn't bring anything," I said, "Tony, do you have one of your gadgets that could produce a movie for us?"

"No. Not today, I don't. Sorry. We have the Xbox," Tony smiled at me.

"Hell no. I told you before, an you didn't listen to me. I'm still forbidding you."

"Well, then we're stuck doing nothing."

"Great... Then, that means everyone can go to sleep."

"I was gonna say horror stories, but I'm getting this mixed up with camp," Bruce chuckled.

"Do anything!" Tony plopped down on the pillows next to me out of pure boredom. Steve saw us laying down, and he soon did, too. Bruce sighed, then fell as well. Thor and Loki looked at us like we were crazy. I started giggling.

"N-No. Don't laugh. It was finally quiet," Steve tried not to laugh or smile. Bruce and Tony even began laughing quietly for no apparent reason. I think it was the sleep deprivation.

I sighed loudly and said, "We're so boring."

"Mmhm," Bruce agreed.

"Wanna go back down to the beach and do stuff?" Tony asked.

"Are you crazy?" I told him, "I'm already in my pijamas. No thank you."

"But you could go in them. It'll be fine. No one will be down there. We could, like, start a bon fire or something."

I laughed.

"No. I don't think so."

"I would like to go," Loki spoke. I looked at him with a 'What?!' expression.

"I agree with Mr. Stark and Loki. Let's go," Thor said.

"What?! No, no, no... We are not going to the beach at almost 10:00 at night. There's no way."

"I really want to go," Bruce said. I was already outnumbered, and Steve didn't even answer yet.

"Me, too," Captain America finally spoke. I sighed.

"Fine. You guys go, and tell me how it was in the morning," I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"No, come on. It won't be the same without you, Michelle," Bruce said.

"Please come," Steve begged me.

"Try convincing my grandparents to let me go..."

"Sure! As long as you're back safe and sound, I don't see a problem," Noni said. I was standing in the living room, shocked at her answer to Tony's request.

"I'll make sure to bring everyone back in one piece. Especially Michelle," Tony wrapped his arm around my shoulders and shook me gently, "We'll be back later."

"Fanny, are you sure?" my grandpa whispered to my grandmother.

"She's with five big and strong men. She'll be fine."

"Alright, it's your call."

"I'll start packing blankets and stuff," Steve said, and left the room.

"Make sure to bring flashlights. It's very dark at night," my grandma told everyone, but mainly Tony because he was in charge of this operation.

"I have plenty of lights in my car."

Soon, Steve packed as many blankets he could find. And everyone had sweatshirts in case they got cold. I grabbed my SFP Terriers hoodie, and we were ready.

"Alright. Bye. We'll be back later," I said to my grandparents as we left the house. We all filed into Tony's car, and he drove us down to the beach parking lot.

"You know you could drive down to the beach, now. It's late enough," I said.

"Really? Oh, that's awesome! Do I just drive down the ramp?"

"Yeah, and you can drive down as far as you want."

"Cool. It might get bumpy," Tony said as he put the car into four-wheel drive. Then, we headed down the ramp and onto the beach.

"I think right here is good," I said when we about reached the spot we set up our things earlier.

"Okay. Lemme just put the car in park, and we should be good."

Once the car engine was turned off, we all scrambled out of the car. It was hard to see, but it was nice to just hear the waves hitting the shore.

"Stark, about the light?" I heard Loki say. He snapped his fingers and a green ball of light appeared in the palm of his hand. It illuminated his face, which turned it slightly green. I stared at it in amazement.

"Stop showing off," Tony scoffed. Loki grinned.

"But where are your flashlights?" I said.

"They're not flashlights," Tony opened the trunk of his car and pulled out what looked like miniature versions of the life supply on his chest. He handed them to each of us, even Loki once he turned off his glowing sphere.

"What is this?" Steve asked. Tony grabbed his own, and walked to the edge of the sandy cliff.

"Watch," he said and placed it in the sand. Tony immediately stepped back as the thing started shaking. In a second, it transformed into a tall lamp post. But it seemed to give off a lot more light that spread out more than a normal lamp post.

"Wow," Bruce said.

"Just put yours on the sand somewhere and it'll turn into that," Tony explained and pointed to the lamp.

"Shouldn't we all put ours along the cliff, so we can have light further?" I said.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea," Steve agreed with me. So, we all set off with our mini lamps and spread out far enough from each other to have light towards the ramp, and past the Pancake rock.

Soon, the beach was illuminated with the light from Tony's invention. It was still hard to see the sound, but you could make out the shoreline.

"It looks great, Tony," Bruce patted the genius, billionaire's back.

"Thanks, Banner."

I walked back to the truck after setting my insta-lamp down.

"Now that you got us down here, what did you want to do?" I asked Tony, who was leaning up against the door of his car.

"I have something for us, but I want to use them later. Right now, just... Enjoy the peace and quiet."

"We had peace and quiet at the house."

Tony chuckled at my annoyance. He then looked at me for a while. That whole time, he had a grin on his face. I tried not to look back at him. Instead, I looked at Steve, Loki, Thor, and Bruce standing at the shore, talking about something. I guessed one of them said something funny because I heard Thor burst out in laughter.

"You're fifteen, right?" Tony suddenly asked me.

"No. I'm fourteen."

"Oh, sorry. Really? You look so much older."

"Gee, thanks."

"No, I mean... you look very..." Tony couldn't find the right words.

"I know what you mean. I'm pretty tall for my age, but my brother is three inches taller than me."

"No... It's not really your height. It's your whole appearance and the way you act. Everything about you is so grown up."

I was silent before saying, "Thank you... You know, the first time I ever hung out with you guys, I kept thinking that the only reason you liked me was because I acted like a guy."

Tony laughed.

"W-What? Are you crazy?"

"I always thought that I was more like a guy than a girl. It's weird."

"But why do you think that?"

I leaned up against the car, as well.

"Because... I don't really look like a pretty girl, in case you haven't noticed. And I'm not skinny like most girls-"

"I think you're just naming things you hate about youself. You're fine."

"I can even sound like a guy. Come on, you don't think that my voice is a little low for a girl?"

"No."

I gave him a look.

"Okay, maybe a tiny bit deeper than most. But that's not bad!"

I giggled.

"And you have those dimples," Tony smiled and pointed at my cheek. I looked away from him immediately.

"Yeah, guys have dimples, too."

"Yeah, I think Thor has big ones. But... he's kinda like a girl with that hair anyway."

I slapped Tony's arm, but laughed.

"Thahat's so mean. I'm telling him you said that."

"Okay. He's heard it from me before."

I finished giggling after I shook my head a couple times.

"Should we see what they're doing?" I asked Tony, looking at the men standing near the water.

"Nah, they're fine without us."

"What was that thing you had for us to do later, exactly?"

"Hehe. You'll see."

I rolled my eyes slightly. I yawned next, but not on purpose. I glanced at Tony, then stood up straight, without the support of the car.

"I'm going down. You sure you don't want to come?"

"Aah, I guess I'll go."

"Okay."

I walked down the beach until I reached the shore. Thor wrapped his arm around my shoulders when he saw me, nearly pushing me to the ground.

"This is a lovely place, Michelle," the blond demigod told me.

"Thanks. I like it here, too."

"I suggested we play tag, but I've been voted against. What do you think?"

"Tag? On the beach at night... Not very smart."

"But we have light."

"The rocks will hurt."

"We all packed normal shoes."

Thor would not let me win.

"You guys did?"

"Mine and Bruce's are in the car," Steve said.

"I can make my own shoes," Loki explained and smirked.

"Mine are in my bag in the trunk," Tony chimed in.

"But I said no," Bruce then said.

"Well, then _we_ just won't play. Good luck to the rest of you," I said, and shook Thor's arm off. I headed back to the truck.

"This isn't King of the Rock. It's tag!" Tony yelled after me.

"Still won't play."

"Come on, Banner. You gotta play," Tony then faced the doctor. Bruce crossed his arms over his chest, thinking it over.

"I don't know..."

"Please, Bruce?" Steve asked him in a slightly pleading tone. It wasn't common to hear the Captain call Bruce by his first name. Bruce sighed.

"Fine."

"Good man," Thor slapped the doctor's back. Bruce fixed his glasses after the force of the hand brought them down on his nose.

"Lemme just get my shoes," Bruce said. Steve and Tony followed him. Thor waited for Loki, who was just standing there, looking at the water.

"You coming, brother?" Thor asked him. Loki looked at his brother.

"Yes."

"Are you okay? You've been acting very quiet and dull lately."

"I'm fine, Thor. Really. Now, explain to me how to play tag again," Loki smiled and started walking with Thor up the beach. Thor explained the rules to him on the way.

"I've changed my mind, Michelle," Bruce told me when he, Tony, and Steve approached the car.

"Okay," I said/sighed, "Why don't you play hide-and-seek next?"

Bruce smiled. I did think that they were acting like children.

"Maybe we will. But there's not many places to hide on a beach," Bruce said in a smart-alec way. I saw Thor and Loki come closer. I noticed that Loki no longer had his slipper things on. He now had normal, sneaker-type shoes. But they didn't look like Midgardian sneakers, meaning they looked godly.

Soon the rest of The Avengers were wearing either normal shoes or sneakers.

"Last chance," Tony said to me.

"No thanks."

"Okay. You ready, guys?"

Tony got answers of approval from everyone.

"How shall we decide who's it?" Thor asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Steve suggested.

"Yeah."

They kind of had to teach Thor and Loki to play, but in the end, Tony was it.

"Ten second lead?" Bruce asked Tony.

"Five second. And no cheating, you two," Tony pointed at the gods.

"You have my word, Mr. Stark," Thor said. He looked at Loki.

"Mine, as well," Loki finally agreed. I could see that his hands were behind, his back, however. I shook my head.

"Michelle, you want to count for me?" Tony said. I smirked.

"You guys have five seconds," I began, "One... Two..."

Most of them were off on one.

"Three..."

Thor managed to get the farthest, which surprised me.

"Four..."

Tony was jumping up and down in anticipation.

"Five."

Tony went in the direction of Bruce first, which was towards the ramps.

"Shit!" Bruce exclaimed when he saw Tony catching up with him.

"Come on, Banner! Let's see what you got!" Tony screamed. Bruce stumbled while he was running, but kept going. By now, he had ran past the lifeguard stand.

"You know, there should be a range limit," Loki told me. Pretty much, everyone gathered around the car once they saw Tony going solely after Bruce.

"We'll tell them when they come back," I said, "How about you can't go past the lamps at each end?"

"That sounds fair," Steve said.

"Now, we wait, I suppose," Thor said. I nodded. I had pretty much lost sight of the two "Science Buddies", as some people call them.

Meanwhile, Bruce was running out of breath fast. He was honestly asking himself why he didn't just give up, and let Tony tag him. Then, he wanted to deny the most likely answer to that: Bruce just wanted to have fun. He knew he would have fun if he kept running and tried to dodge Tony.

Bruce was knocked out of his thoughts... literally. Tony lunged himself at the doctor and they both went tumbling to the sandy ground.

"Y-You're..." Tony was panting a lot, so he had trouble speaking.

"You're i-it," Tony was basically pinning Bruce to the floor. Bruce was on his stomach, arms resting beside each side of his head. He, too, was gasping for air, but more quietly than Tony. Tony was resting on top of him. He thought something was strange, when he heard some noise coming from Bruce. Tony just prayed that he wasn't turning into the Hulk.

"You okay, Banner?" he asked him. That noise actually turned out to be Bruce's laughter. It was a different kind of laughter that Tony hadn't heard from Bruce before.

"Give me a second..." Bruce breathed. Tony smiled, and re-adjusted himself so he was leaning on his side, watching Bruce grin and laugh quietly.

"I'm guessing you're happy," Tony smirked. Bruce nodded, the side of his face rubbing against the sand. Tony then noticed that Bruce's glasses were off his face, which Tony preferred. But still, the doctor needed those to work.

"You're glasses are gone."

"I know. You wanna look for them?"

"I would. But I don't look for things..."

"Thanks, Tony."

"I could make an exception."

"Okay, but to look, you need to get off of me."

"Oh, then, I'll look later."

"Stark..." Bruce said slightly louder and stricter than before. Tony smirked at how uncomfortable he was making Bruce.

"Yeah... I could stay here aaall day."

"Get off," Bruce squirmed, but he was still weak from the running, "Don't make me get the other guy..."

"No, I don't want him to come out just yet."

"Tony, please. This isn't funny."

"It's not? Well, I'm finding this situation pretty hilarious."

"Well, it's not- No!" Bruce flinched and screamed when Tony dug his fingertips into Bruce's side, "Tony, don't you dare. I swear to- Ah!"

Bruce whined and screamed on the last one.

"Help! He's harassing mehe!" Bruce screamed at the top of his lungs, and he shot his arms down to shield his sides. Tony laughed at Bruce.

"I am not. Calm down."

Just then, Thor flew down in front of them, wielding his hammer.

"I heard cries of distress," Thor blinked at the unusual sight in front of him. Tony patted Bruce's back before leaning on him to stand. Bruce groaned as he, too, got to his feet. He brushed the sand off of his face and clothes. Bruce glared at Tony when there was a "spot of sand he missed" on his stomach, and Tony had to use his fingers to get it off.

"We're fine, Thor," Bruce said quietly.

"Bruce is 'it'," Tony smirked and started jogging away from the two of them.

"Is this true?" Thor asked Bruce. He nodded.

"Well, then," Thor lowered his hammer, "I shall not cheat."

Mijolnir disappeared into the sky, and Thor began running as well. Bruce sighed, and decided to chase after them. But then he remembered something.

"Oh, wait- I need my glasses!" Bruce yelled to see if either Tony or thor were close enough to hear him. And he really could've used that light from Thor's hammer.

Bruce groaned. He dropped to his knees and began slowly crawling around, trying to feel for his glasses. He complained to himself about why Tony couldn't have knocked him over near one of the lamps. And Bruce was also pitying himself for being reduced to this, just to look for his glasses. He knew that Tony or S.H.I.E.L.D., even, could get him new ones. But Bruce liked these. They've been with him forever.

After a couple minutes with no luck, Bruce stood up. He thought of a way to find his glasses easier. Bruce started jogging back to everyone else. Once they saw him coming, everyone backed away from the truck. Steve began running away from Bruce. Bruce tried to signal to them that he wanted a time-out. I caught that motion.

"Guys, he's saying time-out," I explained to everyone still around me. Steve came back.

Bruce finally arrived, out of breath. He leaned on his knees, hunched over. He started coughing. I walked over and started rubbing his back.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Bruce held up a 'one minute' finger and stood up straight.

"I'm fine... I just need one of Tony's lamp things," Bruce looked at the billionaire who was on his bad side now.

"Why?" Tony asked, doing a great job hiding the smile he so desperatly wanted to show.

"I couldn't find my glasses," Bruce said, glaring at Tony.

"You mean these?" Tony reached inside his pijama shirt pocket and pulled out Bruce's glasses. Bruce snatched the glasses from Tony's hand.

"You're an asshole," he said, and continued to clean the lenses before putting them back on his face. Tony smiled at the doctor's comment. Bruce did curse, but you had to really piss him off for him to do it. Steve was the one that really never spoke any foul language.

"I quit. I'll be waiting in the car," Bruce walked around the car and opened the passenger door. He sat down in that seat, looking out the windsheild.

"Alright. Let him cool off," I said. I shook my head at Tony.

"What did you do to him, Tony?" Steve said.

"We had a little... thing over there, and he lost his glasses. I picked them up when I saw them to save him the trouble."

"Well, I believe you just angered him more," Loki said.

"Thank you for making that obvious," Tony said back to him sarcastically.

"I saw him on top of Dr. Banner when I arrived," Thor explained to us. I gave Tony a what-the-fuck-did-you-do look. Everyone gave Tony a similar look.

"Alright, alright. Here's what happened: Bruce was running from me. And I caught up to him and kind of... jumped on him. I know it sounds bad, but listen. We both landed on the floor, but I landed on Banner. He lost his glasses from the impact. We were both too tired to move, hence why I didn't get off of him," most of what Tony said was true. He really didn't want to tell them that he was basically flirting with Bruce in a way, however. The part about them being tired was only true for Bruce. Tony was fine after thirty seconds.

"And you took his glasses when he was probably looking for them. That's why he's mad?" Steve said.

"I think so. Ask him if you want to be sure," Tony pointed to the doctor in the car.

"Okay... Everyone, just relax. It's over. Just leave Bruce alone, and he'll get over it. Just be somewhat peaceful," I said. I opened the trunk of Tony's car. Bruce turned his head slightly to see who it was, but really didn't care. I pulled out the blankets Steve packed. I asked Loki and Steve to help me lay them down on the ground. After we did, I sat down in one and motioned for the others to join me. Once everyone was seated, I laid down in my blanket and stared at the stars. Loki watched me, since I was next to him again and did the same. Tony followed next, then Thor, and last Steve. I felt bad that Bruce was missing this.

"Do you want to know what constellations I see?" Loki whispered to me after all of us were silent for some time.

"Sure."

"That one slightly ahead of us... That is Ursa Major."

"Cool. Which one is that exactly?"

"I think that is what Midgardians call the 'Big Dipper'," Thor explained to me. Loki looked disappointed that he couldn't tell me that.

"What other ones did you see?" I said to Loki. He smiled.

"The one all the way to the left is Ursa Minor."

"'Little Dipper'," Thor translated for me again.

"And that's the North Star, right?" I pointed to the brightest star in that constellation.

"Polaris," Loki said.

"Well, sorry. They're called both on Earth."

Loki chuckled. I scooted closer to him on the blankets, hoping he wouldn't notice. I saw that Steve and Tony were quiet since we all sat on the blankets. It seemed that they were also interested in the stars, finding each constellation Loki pointed out.

Bruce looked out the window of the driver's seat across from him to see why everyone was so quiet. He was surprised when he didn't see anyone. Bruce twisted further in his seat to look out every window in the car. He didn't see anyone. This caused him to worry. Bruce opened the door and stepped out.

I smiled when I heard the thud of the car door. Bruce came around the front of the car and saw all of us on the ground.

"Look at the stars with us, Dr. Banner," Thor told him and tilted his head upward to look at Bruce. Bruce just nodded slightly. He looked at Tony who pretended not to notice him.

"Yeah... I want to apologize first. To Tony," Bruce said in a low voice. Tony's head moved a little bit on the blankets.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry for calling you an asshole," Bruce walked so he was standing above Tony on the other side of the blankets.

Bruce knelt down and said in a quieter voice, "I know you were just trying to cheer me up. I didn't mean to over-react. I'm really sorry."

"Me too, Banner," Tony pointed to the empty space next to him on his blanket, "Me too."

Bruce sat and laid down next to Tony.

"And I can see Orion's Belt very faintly from here," Loki resumed speaking. I nodded my head when Loki pointed to it.

"It's usually more visible in the winter months here on Midgard," Thor jumped in again. I knew very well that the Asgardians were grown up to be familiar with astronomy. I guess it was also part of Norse culture.

My hand accidentally brushed against Loki's and I pulled mine back. He glanced at me quickly before returneing his gaze to the dark summer night sky. I closed my eyes and relaxed into the blanket, hearing the waves once more.

"You know, I still didn't hear you sing," I said, smiling. Loki chuckled and looked at me.

"You know those songs I was telling you about? That my mother used to sing to us..."

"Yeah."

"Well... They were actually Midgardian songs that she heard of over time."

Thor smiled at his brother's honesty with me. He looked up at us for a short while before fixing his eyes back to the starry sky.

"Would I know any of them?" I asked in a whisper.

"I don't know. You may know one or two."

"Can you sing one of them for me?"

I looked into Loki's green eyes, as he looked back into my brown ones. He showed me a small smile before leaning back in the blanket.

"Of course..." he whispered. I laid back down, too. It seemed everyone relaxed a bit more, but I didn't think they heard Loki's answer. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a tune sung by the god laying down next to me. It didn't sound bad at all, since I knew the song. It made me smile.

"_Now it's time to say good night_

_Good night Sleep tight_

_Now the sun turns out his light  
Good night Sleep tight  
Dream sweet dreams for me  
Dream sweet dreams for you_..."

I absentmindedly began to lean into Loki's shoulder/chest. I closed my eyes, as I hoped he would continue to sing. Thor saw me and Loki's blank face when I did that. He smiled, but mouthed to Loki to keep going. So, Loki continued his singing.

"_Close your eyes and I'll close mine  
Good night Sleep tight  
Now the moon begins to shine  
Good night Sleep tight  
Dream sweet dreams for me  
Dream sweet dreams for you_..."

By now, all of The Avengers were listening to Loki's smooth, sweet voice. It began to lull everybody, so we were on the verge of sleeping. I was already past that point, however. My head dropped further into Loki's chest. He grabbed my hand and held it in his. Loki kept singing until the end of the almost-repetitive song.

"_Close your eyes and I'll close mine_

_Good night Sleep tight  
Now the sun turns out his light  
Good night Sleep tight  
Dream sweet dreams for me  
Dream sweet dreams for you_..."

I was fast asleep when Loki looked down at me. He smiled and finished the song with...

"Goodnight. Goodnight, everybody. Everybody, everywhere... Goodnight."

~The End~


	4. The Morning After

I had been having a weird dream about the high school I will be attending in the fall when I finally woke up. I opened my eyes very slightly because they couldn't open any more than that. It was like they had gotten glued together over night. I looked around me and I realized that I was in a twin bed in a bedroom in my grandparents' house. It was the room I usually sleep in when I visit. I closed my eyes for another minute, listening to the fan spin quickly. It made a clinking noise every two seconds, which really annoyed me.

I decided to roll over after another five minutes. I was all tangled up in the sheet and blanket. Then I looked at the clock through my blurry eyes. I made out that it was almost eight in the morning, the usual time I wake up. I looked at the bigger bed across from me. I think it was Steve I saw in it.

The funny thing about waking up was that I didn't remember how I got in the house or in the bed. I pulled the blanket off of me and sat up straight on the edge of my bed. I rubbed my eyes to get all of that morning crust and junk out of them. I blinked, and now I saw Steve for sure on the huge bed, taking up most of it. I was so happy that he wasn't snoring. My legs nearly gave out on me when I stood up.

Those early morning bathroom trips are somewhat relieving and annoying. I did my business and went back in the room. I turned that annoying fan down one notch on the power so it wouldn't make that clinking noise. I crawled back into bed and sighed. I wanted to sleep for maybe another half hour, if I was lucky.

I later figured out that the way everyone slept was based on their size. Steve was pretty huge, so I guess he got the big bed in my room. Thor was another big guy, so he slept in a yellow room my grandparents have downstairs. Loki slept in the tiny bed in the basement, right under the staircase. And Bruce and Tony slept in the room next to mine in two separate twin beds.

Bruce woke up first. He barely slept anyway, so it was only normal that he would awaken first. He walked passed Steve and I's bedroom, but opened the door slightly first to check on us. We were both sleeping (Well, Steve was. I was trying to sleep). He continued walking down the hall and went to the computer.

Little did Bruce know, Thor was also awake. But Thor really didn't know what to do since he thought everyone else was still asleep. He walked out of his room and heard clicking from the computer upstairs. The god decided to check it out and started ascending the stairs. He reached the second flight and could make out Bruce at the computer.

"Good morrow, doctor," Thor soon reached the top of the stairs. Bruce turned his head and smiled at Thor.

"Hey, Thor. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept well. No disruptions. What are you doing on the..." Thor pointed at the computer screen.

"Computer?"

"Yes, computer."

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"Well, I first wanted to check if there's any big news about us or anything concerning The Avengers. But when I searched something on the address bar, one of Michelle's websites popped up. It looked interesting, so I clicked on it. It brought me here," Bruce showed Thor my deviantART homepage. Thor moved closer to the computer to get a better look.

"Is that Loki?" Thor asked in disbelief. Bruce nodded. Loki was my deviantID and my icon.

"I am still very confused. But it's interesting, to say the least," Bruce scrolled down a bit, "Did you know she likes The Three Stooges?"

"The what?"

"Never mind. Well, did you know that she thinks of Loki as 'so evil and sexy at the same time' ... and 'his face and appearance tell stories about his life and his pain and suffering'?" Bruce read some of my bio and chuckled. Thor was reading the same as Bruce read.

"I have to tell Loki," Thor said and grinned, "She mentioned us."

Thor pointed to the part he saw The Avengers mentioned.

"She loves us," Thor finished the sentence.

"I never knew any of this," Bruce smiled, scrolling down further, "What is this stuff?"

"She has mentioned us a lot, actually," Thor was reading the titles of some of my stories. Bruce clicked on one where he saw 'The Avengers' as a title.

"Oh my God, she writes stories about us…"

"What?"

"Read."

Thor and Bruce were now busy an Avengers story of mine called 'What Started Out As Science'. Bruce mainly picked this one because he saw his name start the opening sentence.

"This is about you and Mr. Stark," Thor said when he and Bruce were maybe ten paragraphs in.

"I figured. This is so weird," Bruce smiled.

The two Avengers continued reading until the end. Bruce was silent, but Thor was chuckling.

"Why does she write these?" he asked. Bruce was just staring at the screen.

"I have to tell the others."

"I know. This is all very amusing. Did she write more?"

"About ten or fifteen more…" Bruce went to my Gallery and clicked on one of my folders.

"I would like to wake up the others. Care to join me?" Thor suddenly said. Bruce looked up at him.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Thor."

"Why not? I'd like to annoy some of them, too," Tony came out of his room that second, rubbing his right eye.

"I thought you usually sleep late. What happened?" Bruce minimized the screen so he couldn't see it.

"Not my house. I feel that it's rude if I sleep late in someone else's house."

"I never knew you cared about other people, Tony," Bruce joked.

"Ha-ha. Now, let's wake up Stars and Stripes," Tony suggested. Thor walked over to him.

"Coming, Banner?"

"I think I'll just wait here and listen to what happens."

"Okay."

Tony and Thor quietly walked into the room Steve and I were sleeping in. I successfully fell asleep about ten minutes after I re-entered the bed. The trouble makers in the room were soon to put an end to that.

Tony walked over to the bed Steve was in and jumped on top of the Captain. Steve just groaned and rolled over onto his stomach.

"Wakey, wakey, Cap," Tony joked. Again, Steve groaned, but this one came out as more of a whine. Thor looked on, very amused. He glanced at me, but decided to leave me alone… for now.

"Get off," Steve mumbled into his pillow, reaching out his arm to try and whack Tony. He was nowhere close to him. Tony just chuckled.

"Everyone's been waiting for you. We're all dressed. It's, like, the middle of the day," Tony lied to see if that would get Steve to move at all. Steve soon ended up on his back, rubbing his tired eyes.

"No freaking way," Steve said. He looked at the clock, then heard Tony burst out in laughter. He hit him a couple times.

"You're a jerk!" Steve grabbed one of the pillows on the bed and whacked Tony with that. Tony soon found his own and hit back. They were now having a pillow fight.

A pillow soon came flying towards Thor and hit him in the head.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. He picked up the pillow and joined in the pillow fight. I wasn't bothered by their grunts and sometimes screams. But most of the noises coming from them were laughs.

Bruce heard the commotion, and decided to stop reading another one of my stories. He stood up and walked into the bedroom I was trying to sleep in.

He opened the door with, "What on earth are you... Oh God," and stepped back out. Thor quickly stood up and grabbed Bruce after he saw the door close. Bruce was struggling in the god's tight grasp.

"Thor, I don't want to be a part in this! Let me go!"

"Nonsense, you must have some fun with us."

Thor pushed Bruce back in the room and shut the door, using his foot, behind him. Tony saw what Thor had captured and stopped hitting Steve. Steve still hit him in the head one more time before stopping.

"Look who decided to join us," Tony teased.

"No. I wanted to see what all that noise was when Thor refused to let me go."

"You don't want to get smacked with a pillow, then?"

"No. I really don't."

"Thor, get him on the bed," Tony readjusted himself so there was a space between he and Steve. Bruce struggled even more as Thor lifted him in the air and placed him on his back on the bed. The god also managed to successfully pin him down.

"Steve, you in for a little double-teaming?" Tony grinned at Steve, then at Bruce.

"Of course. Banner needs to have some more fun in his life."

"Well said. Thor, you wanna help, too?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Hold him until we start hitting him, then you get your own and join in."

"Very well."

"One... two..."

"Three!" Steve shouted before Tony got a chance to. He whacked Bruce with a pillow on his stomach. Tony hit him on the head and saw his glasses fall off. He picked them up and tossed them onto a night stand by the bed.

"Guys... Stop!" Bruce yelled, trying to shield his body. Thor picked up a pillow and joined in in smacking the poor doctor with them.

"No," was Tony's answer to Bruce's pleading.

"Please... Stop! Ow... Kn-Knock it off!" Bruce said again, but this time he said that through a bout of chuckles. Soon, a whole chain of giggles started between the men.

Thor saw me, still sleeping through this, on the smaller bed in the room. He got off the big bed and approached me quietly. He was thinking of hitting me with the pillow, but decided against it. A pillow came into contact with the back of Thor's head, and he turned his head to look at a laughing Steve. This lack of fire gave Bruce an opening. He stood up a bit too quickly, and almost launched himself into Thor's back. Thor fell forward from the impact... onto me. I woke up with a start. Thor and Bruce were now in a laughing heap on my bed.

"What the fuck?" I said aloud. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't imagining any of this. Tony and Steve were practically in hysterics from laughing so hard. I plopped back down on the bed and covered myself with the blanket the best I could from the weight of Thor and Bruce.

"S-Sorry, Michelle," Bruce calmed himself down and stood up. Thor just adjusted himself so he was sitting at the edge of my bed. I knew that I wasn't gonna be able to go back to sleep. I pulled down the blanket so it was at my waist, and I laid on my back.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

It took a while for someone to answer, but Tony finally said, "Pillow fight."

I looked from Tony to Steve to Thor and finally Bruce. They all had happy or embarrassed grins on their faces. I thought about saying how childish and stupid that was, and complaining about how I was sleeping fine and they woke me up.

But instead I said, "Why?"

"I don't know," Bruce looked at Tony and Steve.

"Steve started it," Tony accused.

"I did. But he woke me up."

"Okay. Thanks for explaining," I tore the blanket off of me completely and sat next to Thor.

"Your hair looks ridiculous," Tony teased and giggled. I turned around to look at the mirror. My ponytail had risen almost to the top of my head through the night and my hair was sticking out in every direction. I grabbed the hair tie and pulled it out. My poufy hair drooped down over my face. It looked like a lion's mane.

"Thanks, Tony," I said sarcastically, and put my hair back up in a messy ponytail, "Why are you guys up so early?"

"Don't know. I just woke up because I don't like sleeping late in other people's houses," Tony explained to me.

"Tony woke me up," Steve said.

"I don't sleep late," Thor joined in.

"And everyone pretty much knows that I don't sleep," Bruce grinned. I nodded my head as an answer to everyone that I heard them. Then, I remembered something I wanted to ask them.

"How did I get in the house last night? I don't remember entering or getting into bed," I said.

Tony took the liberty of explaining, "Well, for starters... Did you know that you fell asleep on Loki?"

My whole body froze, and I felt my cheeks and ears get warm. I only remembered hearing Loki singing. I don't really remember what happened after that.

"I did?" I asked, wanting to know everything.

"Yeah. And it didn't look like he minded," Tony smirked, "Anyway... You fell asleep. And we all stayed on the beach for maybe another half hour, just laying down and talking. Then Bruce decided it was time to go, and we all stood up. Loki didn't because he didn't want to disturb you. Thor picked you up, carefully, and put you in the car. We packed everything up. Loki and Bruce ended up squeezing in the trunk. You were still fast asleep, leaning on Thor. And when we got to the house, Thor picked you up again. He carried you into the house after the rest of us went in. I saw your grandma asleep on one of the chairs. I guess she fell asleep waiting for us. And I didn't wake her up. Thor carried you upstairs and placed you on that bed. We really didn't want to wake you up by getting you too comfortable. We left you in your pajamas and your ponytail was still intact. We discussed the sleeping arrangements, and we fell asleep. And now, we're awake with you."

I listened to everything, and I believed it. Still, I couldn't believe that I fell asleep on Loki. It was going to be so embarrassing the next time I see him.

"Thanks... for taking care of me. You guys are the best," I said. Tony smiled, and so did Thor.

"No thanks necessary," Steve said.

"Um... where's Loki?" I asked.

"I don't know. Probably in the basement," Bruce answered me.

"The basement?"

"Yeah. He agreed to sleep in the bed down there," Tony said.

"But that bed is so small. How did he fit?"

"Loki doesn't sleep stretched out. He curls into a ball of sorts usually," Thor explained  
to me.

"Oh..." I said, "Should we get up? But I don't think my grandparents are up yet."

"I'll go downstairs. There's more room," Bruce stood up and left. Steve and Tony followed. Thor waited for me and we exited together. We all took different seats when we got downstairs. I glanced at the basement door, wondering if Loki was really sleeping. I grabbed teh remote of teh TV before I sat on the couch, next to Steve. I turned on the TV and put on the channel my grandpa usually watches in the morning, Channel 2 News.

"What time are you guys leaving?" I asked The Avengers after five minutes of watching the news.

"Don't know. Whatever time you want us gone," Tony said.

"Well, I don't want you guys gone. But the traffic will probably be better the earlier you leave. Is after breakfast good for everyone?"

I got random 'yeahs' and 'okays' from everyone in the room.

"You're staying here, right?" Steve asked me.

"Yeah."

"You know, we still haven't been in your house yet," Tony said.

"That's why I brought you here. I live in an apartment in Queens. There's not enough room for all of you."

"Oh, that's right. You have an apartment. We could come inside in shifts," Tony joked. He got a grin from Bruce and Thor.

"I don't think so. My best friends haven't even been in my house."

"That's sad, Michelle. I'm sorry, but that's just sad," Bruce said. I shook my head at him, fighting back a grin.

"Thanks. I know. I'm an isolated person."

"No, you're nice," Steve tried to lift my spirits.

"Thank you, Steve. You're nice, too. Does anyone have an idea of what they want for breakfast?"

"I know that your grandparents can cook. Dinner last night was great. Whatever they normally have for breakfast is okay with me," Tony fixed himself in his chair.

"You don't want what they normally have for breakfast, trust me."

"Why?" Bruce asked.

"They usually just have whatever soup they have leftover. Most of their breakfast usually concerns leftovers, whether from lunch or dinner."

They were all quiet after I said that.

"But I can make pancakes. And they have plenty of fruit. My dad usually cooks when I'm here because my family usually comes with me."

"Pancakes sound appetizing. I have had them a certain time ago, and they were delicious," Thor said.

"Great. I'll just make that, and Noni can make bacon," I accidentally said Noni instead of 'my grandma'. Tony chuckled.

"Where'd you come up with those names for your grandparents, Michelle?" Bruce asked me.

"I don't know. I think it was the first thing I called them when I was a baby. Noni and Gabu. And the names just stuck.

"Do you have weird names for your other grandparents?" Tony then asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. I called my grandpa Gabu also, but then I usually used their first names. It's Gabu Jack for this one, and my other one was Gabu Ray. I call my other grandma Manga. Don't ask about that origin either."

"Do you call him a different name now? 'Cuz you kept saying 'was'," Steve said, reclining on the couch he was sharing with me.

"He died in 2008."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Steve said.

"No, it's fine. It was a while ago."

"Manga? Like that Japanese drawing, or something..." Tony couldn't let a sad moment disturb him.

"Yeah, I don't know."

I heard someone coming down the stairs at that moment. I waited until I saw my grandma rounding the staircase. She smiled at everyone.

"Oh, hello. I would've come down sooner if I knew everyone was awake. How did all of you sleep?"

All of the answers were positive ones.

"Good, good," Noni resumed, "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I think we decided on pancakes and bacon. With, like, fruit and stuff."

"Okay. Great. Do you want to make the pancakes?" my grandma smiled at me. I nodded my head and replied with, "Sure."

"Great. Let me just get everything set."

"Okay."

I turned back around to face The Avengers in the living room.

"She is a very kind woman. You are lucky to have her as a grandparent," Thor said. I smiled.

"Thanks. I love her a lot."

"What do you think Loki's doing? Does he usually sleep late, Thor?" Tony asked.

"No. He is always the first one up in Asgard. First one strolling through the halls. First one in the dining hall, even before the food is prepared. I don't know what is keeping him."

"Who's going to check on him?" I said. I looked around the room, but everyone looked back at me.

"No, I can't go. It'll just be embarrassing after last night."

"Afraid he might seduce you into cuddling with him?" Tony joked and teased me. Everyone else chuckled.

"I will see what my brother is up to," Thor stood up and left the living room. I watched him open the basement door and walk down.

Thor walked as quietly as he could, in case Loki was still sleeping. He reached the bottom and looked around. There wasn't much light, except that emanating from the windows on the garage door. Thor walked around until he saw the small bed under the staircase. No one was in it, but it was perfectly made. Thor did see his brother's shirt tossed on the bed. He knew that Loki always liked to sleep shirtless. He walked around the stairs and looked at the bathroom. The door was closed, but light shown through the bottom crack. Thor knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Loki answered the knock.

"Loki?"

"Yes, Thor. What did you come here for?"

"To see where you were. You never sleep this late. What are you doing?"

Loki opened the door, so Thor could see him. He held a wet wash cloth to the left side of his forehead. Thor could see red on the inside of the cloth.

"Dear, brother! What happened to you?" Thor asked in concern, and pulled Loki in for a hug. Loki breathed a sigh of relief when Thor released him.

"Well...?" Thor waited for an explanation. Loki paused before answering.

"I, uh... Come," Loki walked out of the bathroom and went over to the bed. Thor followed him.

"You see the beam of wood right there?" Loki pointed to a long wooden beam above the bed. Thor looked at it, but noticed a spot of red on it. It looked like blood.

"Yes?"

"Well... When I woke up, I just leaned up right away. And I hit my head on that beam pretty hard. That resulted in this," Loki removed the cloth from his forehead to reveal a deep gash on it. Thor cringed at the sight.

"Loki..."

"I know. Be more careful. You need to take your time when you-"

"No, I was going to say... How stupid are you to do that to yourself?" Thor laughed. Loki swallowed a couple giggles.

"It hurts, Thor. But thank you for being a loving and caring brother in my time of pain and distress," Loki turned around to walk back to the bathroom, but Thor caught his free arm. He spun him around.

"Loki, I am very sorry. How come you didn't put any other professional medical tool on it? Like a bandage of sorts. I think you may need stitches," Thor removed the cloth for a second to look closely at his brother's wound. Loki looked at the ground while Thor was examining the cut.

"I'm fine," Loki replaced the cloth, which was now almost completely covered in blood.

"Come. Get dressed. I will take you to a doctor. I'm sure they have one close by," Thor encouraged his brother by walking up two steps.

"Thor, I'm fine. I'll ask Michelle for a bandage."

"No, the cut is too deep."

"Alright, alright. But now everyone's going to be concerned."

"Don't look at anyone," Thor smirked as he and Loki ascended the stairs. Loki looked at the floor, trying not to make the cloth or his head noticeable. Once the brothers reached the top of the stairs, Thor stood as a shield for Loki.

"Where's Loki?" Steve asked when he saw Thor. Thor turned his head to look at Loki.

"He's here. He just had a little problem downstairs. And I will take him to an infirmary. He will be fine," Thor turned around. He took Loki's clothing bag and walked into the yellow room with him.

Everyone in the living room was left very curious about Loki.

"Thor, maybe a little privacy," Loki said to his brother once he set up an appropriate outfit.

"Brother, I've seen you naked many a time. Come on," Thor stood in the room with his arms crossed over his chest, "I am here to assist you."

"So be it."

Changing wasn't that difficult, since Loki didn't have a shirt on previously. He put on his pants without much effort, though Thor suppressed giggles when Loki had to do some sort of wiggling/dance to get his pants on completely. Loki froze with his shirt in his hands, wondering how he was going to do this. He couldn't remove the cloth for a time to put on the shirt. The blood may drip onto it.

"I am here, Loki. I can help you with that."

"I think I can put on a shirt by myself," Loki said, but he knew he was incapable of doing it at this moment, "... when I am in a better condition."

Thor smiled and walked over to Loki. He took the shirt from him and rolled it up.

"Lift up that arm," Thor instructed. The arm that wasn't holding the cloth was in the air. Thor carefully and slowly put the stretched shirt over Loki's head. Loki switched arms holding the cloth to put his arm through the other sleeve.

"Thank you, Thor."

"You're very welcome. Now, put on shoes and we will be off."

"Have you driven a car before?"

"Once or twice."

"And I bet you crashed it."

"A few dents, yes. But that was the first time."

Loki grinned and said, "Why can't you just use Mijolnir?"

"I think it would be too dangerous to your health if I transport you there with that. I don't even know where a hospital is around here."

"Then... Fine. I really didn't want it to come to it, but if we have to ask one of the others to drive, we will."

Loki was fully dressed now, and he stood next to Thor. He seemed lost in thought.

"Thor."

Thor looked at Loki now and said, "I don't want them to worry."

"Neither do I. Just ask one of them. I don't care which, as long as they can drive."

Thor stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"What happened?" Tony asked when he saw Thor. Thor looked at everyone in the room before answering. He figured that I was too young to drive. Steve wasn't yet okay with the new world around him, and he doubted that he could handle a truck. Bruce might have serious road rage. The final option was Tony. He did drive them here, after all.

"Mr. Stark... I may need your assistance in taking my brother and I to the hospital."

Everyone was quiet.

"What happened to him?" I asked, now concerned.

"Nothing. Loki hit his head and he got a cut. He's fine. I just want to get it looked at. Stark, please?"

"Yeah. Sure, I'll take you guys. Let me just put on real clothes. I'll shower when I come back," Tony stood up and went upstairs. He came back down five minutes later, fully dressed.

"Alright, where is the patient?"

Thor opened the door for Loki to come out. Loki did step out, but Thor tried to block him from us again. Bruce quickly stood up from his seat and walked over to them.

"May I take a look, Loki?" he asked for permission. Loki looked at him. He removed the cloth. Bruce reached for his glasses from his shirt, but they weren't there. He forgot them upstairs after the pillow fight. He could still make out the wound.

"Wow..." Bruce said in wonder, "How did that happen?"

"I will make sure to explain when I come back."

"Okay. Thor, make sure he gets looked at."

"I will. Come, brother," Thor opened the front door and Loki stepped out. Tony and Thor followed, and the door was closed behind them.

Tony sat in the driver's seat and turned the engine on. Thor sat in the passenger seat, while Loki sat in the back with his bloody cloth still placed firmly on the wound.

"So, what happened to you?" Tony asked, when he was setting up the GPS for a hospital nearby.

"I hit my head on a wooden beam in the basement," Loki said. He saw Tony smirk at that.

"How did you do that?"

"I asked him the same thing," Thor said.

"I sat up too quickly, I guess."

"So, you did this in the bed you were sleeping in?"

"Yes."

"Can I see?" Tony turned in his seat to look at Loki while the GPS was loading. Loki rolled his eyes and lifted the cloth. Tony made a face, and went back to the GPS.

"Did the beam have metal spikes?"

Thor chuckled.

"No."

"Okay. Just asking because that looks pretty bad... Okay. We're all set. Peconic Bay Hospital, here we come."

Tony pulled out of the driveway, and drove out of Reeves Park. The silence was starting to annoy Tony. Both gods were staring out of there windows.

"Not an ideal place for a bed, right, Loki?"

"Hmm?"

"I said that the bed isn't in a great spot... Because you hit your head."

"Oh... yes, not very smart. Then again, it was also my fault for not being careful."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not very much. The good news is that I can't really see it. It would be worse if it was something I could easily see."

"I guess you're right."

"Is that the hospital?" Thor pointed to a huge building in the distance. There was a sign sticking out, but it was room far away for Tony to read.

"I don't know. It could be," Tony said and continued driving in the direction the GPS told him. The building ended up being the hospital. It looked very neat and floral from the outside. Tony parked, and the three of them found themselves in the correct place. Thor described the situation to a front desk lady, and they waited in the waiting room for wounds.

"A Stark? Tony..." a female nurse said in a doorway. Tony suggested he use his name so no one would give the gods a hard time about their names. Tony stood up with Thor and Loki.

"I'm sorry. I can only have one other person in the room," the nurse said. Tony agreed to stay in the waiting room. Thor and Loki followed the nurse to a medical room.

"Just wait in here. I'll be right back," she said and left.

"Shouldn't we have different names? They may think we are crazy," Loki told Thor when he was sure the nurse was out of earshot.

"I suppose you're right. Who will you be?"

"Tom," Loki said off the top of his head.

"And I will be... Chris."

"We sound pretty normal now," Loki smiled and so did Thor. A male doctor came in a minute later.

"Well, hello there," he said.

"Hello," Loki said, giving the doctor a small smile.

"What have you done here?" the doctor walked toward Loki and pulled off the cloth, "I'm Dr. Hemmingway."

"What happened?" Dr. Hemmingway finished, examining the wound.

"I hit my head on a wooden beam when I woke up."

"That must be a pretty dangerous beam. It doesn't look like you have any splinters, but that's the least of your problems. You will need stitches. Have you had them before?"

"Yes. I've done a few for myself, actually."

"Wow."

"I would've done it again, but I didn't have the proper tools with me."

"Where are you from?"

"Norway," Thor answered.

"Cool. I don't think I've had any Norwegian patients before."

"We prefer being called Norse," Loki said.

"Sorry. But isn't Norse a religion?"

"It is, but we are very religious and we call ourselves the Norse."

"Okay. I'll be back in a second."

The doctor left the room.

"Really, Loki?"

"What?"

"We're Norse? That makes no sense. Being Norse is a religion, like the doctor said."

"I don't care. At least we aren't Thor and Loki to him."

"True."

"Okay..." Dr. Hemmingway came back in the room, "I didn't get your name." He looked at Thor.

"Chris."

"Okay, Chris. Do you mind waiting here while I take Tony into a room where we perform stitches and things like that?"

"No, not at all."

"Thanks. You, follow me. And keep that cloth on there."

"Yes, sir," Loki looked at Thor once before walking out of the room.

"My real name is Tom. But my friends call me Tony for some reason," Loki decided to share with Dr. Hemmingway. The doctor looked at him and grinned.

"Nice... Okay. Can you sit up there for me, please?"

"Of course."

Loki hopped up on a seat the doctor pointed to once they were in a new room. Dr. Hemmingway reclined Loki's chair before getting to work.

Thor waited patiently in the room for about twenty minutes. Every time he heard the clicking of shoes on the floor in the hallway, he turned his head and hoped it was Loki. Thor soon gave up hope of that. When he didn't bother to listen to the shoes, Dr. Hemmingway walked into the room. Thor stood up.

"Thank you for being patient, Chris. Tom is fine. It just took a little longer than I expected putting the stitches in. He's doing great. The only thing, really was the amount of blood. It seemed to keep pouring from the wound. I got that under control and put in the stitches with success."

"Thank you, doctor. How many stitches did he get?"

"I originally expected it to be around nine. But the wound was a bit larger. It ended up being eleven."

"Alright."

"You can go in the waiting room. He'll be out in five minutes."

"Very well. Thank you again. I appreciate your help."

"No problem. It is my job, after all."

"Thank you. Have a good day."

"You, too."

Thor left the room, but had to ask Dr. Hemmingway which direction the waiting room was in. He thanked him when he told him, and Thor was on his way. Tony stood up when he saw Thor enter the waiting room.

"Well?"

"Loki's fine. He just received eleven stitches, and the doctor said he would be out soon."

"Eleven? The poor guy."

Thor chuckled and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder, "He has had worse injuries, my friend."

The two of them sat down and waited for Loki to come out. He did about several minutes later. Thor stood up to greet him, and Tony followed.

"How is it, brother?" Thor saw that Loki now had a gauze bandage taped onto his forehead. Loki smiled.

"It's fine. Let us check out," Loki motioned to the door, and the three of them walked out. When they reached a desk, the lady asked for their name and she typed a few things into the computer.

"Cut on the forehead?" she said.

"Yes."

"Okay. You should be good."

"Um, excuse me," Loki said, "The doctor told me when I have to come back to get these removed, but I forgot it. Could you please tell me?"

"Yes, hold on," she typed some more, "A week from today. So, that would be the 30th."

"Oh... And another thing. I won't be here by the 30th. I'm just visiting. What do I do then?"

"I'm sorry. If it was a minor amount of stitches, you would be able to transfer to a different hospital. But since you had more than ten, you have to come back here."

Loki looked at Tony first for some sort of an answer to this. He saw that the billionaire was deep in thought.

"Excuse us," Tony said and walked a little farther away from the desk. Thor and Loki followed.

"How long is Michelle staying here?" Tony asked them.

"I don't know," Thor said.

"Longer than us," Loki touched his bandage.

"Okay. So, maybe you can ask her if she can stay with you out here until the 30th."

"I can't ask her to do that. And I wouldn't even dare do that to her grandparents."

"Dude, trust me. Grandparents love any kind of company. I bet they would die to have Michelle there for a couple extra days, as well as you."

"I'm not sure. I could remove them myself in Asgard. We have an infirmary there, too."

"My brother has a point."

"Yeah... That would be smart, but think about this. What about this hospital? Wouldn't they wonder where their patient is when it's the 30th? And the whole thing is in my name, so who do you think will get stuck with all of these problems?"

"Mr. Stark is right, Loki."

"Pick a side, Thor," Loki said in annoyance. He was thinking everything over.

"I guess the only way to keep everything in line would be for me to stay here..." Loki admitted after some silence between the three of them.

"Okay. Then, it's settled. We'll ask Michelle. And if she can't stay here with him, Loki will just stay by himself. Right?"

"I would prefer not to... But I will."

"Good," Tony walked back over to the woman at the desk and said, "The 30th is fine. The patient will be here. Do we just pay now, or...?"

"Yes. I'll give you the total cost in one second," the clerk typed into the computer, told Tony the price, and he paid her. Thor, Tony, and Loki walked out of the hospital and climbed into Tony's car once they found it.

I was listening for the sound of a car door closing, signaling that Tony, Thor, and Loki were back. I had to explain to my grandma the best I could about where they went.

"Tony's back," Steve said. He was looking out the window most of the time, and he saw the car pull into the driveway. I thought about jumping up out of my seat and running down the path to meet them. I decided against it, especially after what I apparently did last night. There was a knock on the door, and Tony stepped in first. Thor followed, and I really didn't want to look at Loki. I looked at the rug, and I heard Bruce and Steve gasp. I hoped that it wasn't bad.

"How did you do that?" Steve asked and stood up. Bruce saw the wound previously, but asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"Everyone calm down. Loki is fine. He just got a couple of stitches-"

That was all I heard. I shot my head up and Loki and I stared directly at each other. I stood up and he moved closer to me.

"How did you do that? Are you okay?" I asked him kind of quietly. He grinned at me. It seemed that he grew more fond of me after last night, even though I don't remember falling asleep on him.

"I am fine. It doesn't hurt that much anymore."

"Tell us what happened," Steve butted in. Everyone sat down, and most eyes were staring at the bandage on Loki's forehead.

"I woke up, and I sat up too quickly. I accidentally hit my head on a beam that was above the head. It split my head open a bit, but now I've gotten it taken care of. I am fine."

"How many stitches?" Bruce leaned forward in his chair, as if to study the wound through the gauze and bandage.

"Eleven."

"Oh my God," I found myself saying.

"As I said many times, I am fine. Other than the stitches, I am in good health."

We were quiet. My grandmother then called me to make the pancakes. I stood up quickly and walked into the kitchen. I made about twenty silver dollar pancakes, and set the table. Everyone sat and we ate breakfast. Loki was hungrier than usual, which made me smile. He was scarfing down his food. I guess the blood loss brought his sugar to a low point.

"Great pancakes, Michelle," Tony said. I grinned and thanked him. Bruce finished first, followed by Tony. Then Steve and Thor. And last was Loki and I. I took one more cherry from the bowl on the table before excusing myself. Loki stayed at the table for maybe three minutes more. He put his dish in the sink and went in the basement to try and clean the blood stain he left on the wooden beam.

I went on the computer upstairs. Everyone else was pretty much taking a shower and getting dressed for their trip home. I didn't remember leaving my deviantART account page open when I left for the beach yesterday. Tony came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He saw me at the computer and walked over to me.

"Michelle?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Loki ask you yet?"

"What? Ask me what?"

"Oh... Well, how long are you staying in Riverhead?"

"Until Friday, I think. Then, my parents are gonna pick me up."

"Damn. Could you maybe convince them to let you stay until Monday?"

"Why?"

"Loki has to go back to the hospital a week from today to get his stitches removed. And he has to come back to this hospital specifically. We were wondering if he can stay with you until then."

I was thinking everything over.

"I guess it's fine. But I really wanted to go home. I can call my parents and ask them if maybe they can stay over until Monday with me. But my dad has to work on Monday."

"Call them. If they can't do it, Loki can stay here for a couple days by himself. He'll be fine."

"How come Loki didn't ask me over breakfast or something?"

"He was too busy stuffing his face."

I laughed and said, "I'll call my mom now. She should be up. It's Monday, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, I have Raw tonight..." I mumbled to myself as I was dialing my house phone number.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was just talking to myself."

"Okay," Tony gave me a curious look before disappearing into the room he slept in with Bruce. My mom picked up and I described the situation to her. We talked about this for about fifteen minutes before we came to an agreement. I hung up and went back on the computer. A minute later, the phone rang. I didn't bother picking it up because it was probably for my grandparents. I heard Noni pick up downstairs.

"Michelle?" I heard my grandma call my name after she hung up.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go to the park with Uncle Dan?"

I was confused for a minute.

"Umm... He's out?"

"Yes, he got the week off. And he's taking Lauren and Dominic to the park. They invited you when I told them you were out here."

"Sure. I'd love to go. What time is he gonna be here?"

"In about twenty minutes, he said."

"Okay. I'll get ready."

"Alright. I'll call him and tell him to pick you up."

I exited from the page I was on on the computer and stood up. I walked into the room I shared with Steve. He was sitting on the bed.

"Hello," I said and plopped my suitcase on my bed. I looked for my sport shorts and a shirt I can wear to the park.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked me.

"To the park. You guys will be gone in twenty minutes, right?"

"Probably not. I didn't know that there's a park around here. I wish I could go."

I froze. Did I really have to invite The Avengers to come with me?

"Well, the park isn't in Reeves. It's called Statzky Park. It's close by, though. I guess... you can ask the others if they want to come. But I doubt any of them will. You know, you all want to get back to Stark Towers and all that stuff."

"I'll ask them," Steve stood up and gave the invitation to Tony and Bruce in the other room. I couldn't hear their answer.

Steve came back in the room and told me, "They'd love to come. And so would I. I still have to ask the gods. Be right back," and he left. Steve seemed way too happy about this. I wasn't expecting Bruce to say yes at all. I went into their room and asked them about this.

"You both want to come?"

"Well, didn't you invite us?" Tony said.

"I offered. But I thought for sure that you would want to go home as soon as you can."

"You kidding me? I want to stay here as long as I can. Back home is work. This is relaxation."

"Okay," I walked back out of their room and went into the empty bathroom. I brushed my teeth and went back in my room to see Steve in shorts, and he was pulling a shirt over his head.

"Where'd you get those pants?"

"I packed for today. And I packed a very comfortable outfit," Steve smiled at me. I grabbed my clothes and was gonna change in the bathroom. But Tony told me that Bruce went in there to shower. I sighed. I went back in the room and made my bed in the meantime. Steve was ready in thirty seconds.

"What did Thor and Loki say?"

"Thor said he would come. But Loki said that he'd just watch. He didn't want to put himself in any more danger of being hurt."

"Okay. This should be fun. Um, are you finished in here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I kind of want to change. My uncle will be here in about ten minutes, so I want to be ready when he comes."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go downstairs."

"Thanks."

Steve left, and I shut the door behind him. I started taking off my pajamas and put my bra on. Then I pulled on my shorts and my shirt. Someone knocked when I was putting on my socks.

"Come in," I said. Loki stepped in the room, and I looked at him.

"Hi."

"Hey. Where'd you get that outfit?" I couldn't help but smile at Loki's shorts and shirt.

"Asgard has made some arrangements for Thor and I. They took care of everything. And, um… I came to ask you something."

"Is it about staying here until Monday?"

"How did you know?"

"Tony told me. And my mom made an agreement with me. She said yes…"

Loki smiled at this good news.

"… And that she will come with my dad and brother on Friday night. They'll stay for the weekend, and my dad will take off on Monday."

"Oh, thank you so much. And now I get to meet your parents. I've met your brother before. He was nice."

"Thanks. So, you're gonna watch us in the park?"

"Yes. I don't want to be left back in the house, so I want to come. Wonderful weather today."

"Yeah," I chuckled, "It is. Perfect for the park."

I tied my sneakers with Loki still in the room. I stood up straight when I was done with them. I took my brush and my hair ties and used the mirror in the room to put my hair up in a high bun.

"It's really fun. I wish you could play with us."

"It's alright. I am a good watcher."

I smiled at that and said, "Do you play basketball or baseball on Asgard?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh, it's so fun. I think you can play baseball with us because there's little movement involved. But it's all up to you and what you think you can and can't do."

"I'll see."

"Is everyone ready?"

"Don't know. Shall we check?"

"Yeah."

Loki and I stepped out of the room and went downstairs. I quickly looked at the bathroom and the room upstairs before we went down the stairs. Everything seemed pretty vacant.

All of The Avengers were downstairs already, talking.

"What do you do at the park, Michelle?" Bruce asked me once I sat down. Loki stayed standing in the doorway.

"We have this thing where… When we get there, we play basketball for a while. And once we're done with that, we go into one of the baseball fields and we play there for the rest of the time in the park. It's a lot of fun."

"Sounds good. Who goes with you?" Tony asked.

"My uncle comes with his two kids. Lauren and Dominic. Then sometimes, he brings other friends of ours from the beach."

"Okay."

"I see a black car outside. Is that your uncle?" Bruce informed us. I looked out the window. It was his car.

"Yeah, that's him. Let's go," I said. Everyone stood up.

"Noni! Uncle Dan's here," I yelled because she was upstairs.

"Okay. I'm coming down."

"She likes to see everyone before we leave," I explained to Loki.

"Ah," he said in return. I opened the door and stepped out when I saw Uncle Dan approaching the house.

"Hi, bunny. How are you?"

"I'm good," I hugged him and he kissed my cheek.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah. I think Noni wants to say hi. And, um. Some of my friends came over. And they want to play with us. Is that okay?"

"Yeah. We need to build up the Raccoons," my uncle said. He called us the Riverhead Raccoons. My cousin, Lauren stepped out of the car, as well.

"Hello," she said. I hugged her.

"Hi. Some of my friends are gonna come with us today."

"Oh, really? Cool. Are they good?"

"Umm…I don't know actually. Let's go in the house. You can meet them. And your dad probably wants to say hi to Noni."

"Okay."

"Is Dominic in the car?" I asked her when we started walking to the house.

"Yeah."

"Should he come inside?"

"Ahh. He's okay. Heh."

We entered the house and I saw Lauren's eyes go wide when she saw The Avengers either sitting or standing in the living room. My uncle was in a conversation with Steve.

"Are these your friends?" Lauren asked me in disbelief.

"Yeah."

"They're so tall!"

I giggled. Lauren was already 6-feet and one-inch tall, and she always talked about her height compared to everyone around her. She was happy to have people that are even taller than her with her.

"So, are we ready to go?" Uncle Dan said to everyone. We were all standing and heading out the door within the next minute. I caught up with Tony who was leading everything.

"You can just follow my uncle's car," I told him.

"Okay. He's nice. And is the blond one your cousin?"

"Yeah. Lauren."

"She's tall. How old is she?"

"Fifteen."

"Holy shit. Okay, see you at the park."

"Yeah. Bye."

I went with Uncle Dan in his car with Lauren and Dominic. I saw Dominic's friend, Dylan, in the back with him. I said hi to everyone, and we were off.

~The End~


	5. The Park

We started driving. I sat in the back, next to Dominic and Dylan. They were looking at something on Dominic's iPhone.

"Those are your friends, bunny?" my uncle asked me.

"Yeah."

"Are they good? They all look like they're good at basketball."

"I don't know if they really play sports. I know Tony does. And most likely Steve, too."

"Yeah, they're big guys. Hehehe," Uncle Dan chuckled.

"How did you meet them?" Lauren asked, turning slightly in her seat.

"I was in Manhattan to see a play with my mom. And the group of them, minus Loki, were walking through the street. Thor bumped into me, and I fell over. He apologized, and the rest of them felt bad. I don't know. They liked me, I guess. And they wanted to hang out more. That was about two months ago."

"And what are their names?"

"Okay… the one with the long blond hair is Thor. His brother is the one with the longish dark black hair, Loki. Tony is the one that talks the most. Steve is the huge one with the short blonde hair. And Bruce is the one wearing the glasses most of the time."

"They sound like The Avengers," Dominic piped up.

"That is The Avengers. Clint and Natasha couldn't come. They were on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D."

Uncle Dan was chuckling. Dominic and Lauren were giving me amazed looks.

"Wow," Dominic smiled, "That's so cool."

"We're going to be playing at Statzky with superheroes?" Lauren laughed after she said that, "This is going to be awesome. We'll win, right, Michelle?"

"Totally."

"The Raccoons always win," Uncle Dan said and grinned.

"Is anyone else coming?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. Bruce is coming with Cameron and Kyle. Dylan, is your dad supposed to come?"

"Yeah. He said he'll come later," Dylan answered my uncle.

"And Steve, I guess."

"Wow. We're going to be very crowded today," I said.

"Yeah. But it'll be fun."

We drove until we reached the parking lot of Statzky Park. The basketball court was open, which was good news. We got out of the car, and Tony parked a couple spots down from us. I watched them file out of the car, as well.

I turned around and saw that my uncle had already taken two basketballs out of the trunk. I put my softball equipment in the trunk before we left the house. Dominic and Dylan were staring at The Avengers and Loki.

"Uh, we didn't bring any equipment. Were we supposed to?" Tony said, mainly to my uncle.

"Nah, that's fine. We always play a quick game. And the rules are pretty lenient, so we have fun."

Lauren stayed behind with me and said, "I think your blond friend is cute. The one with the long hair."

I grinned, "Thor?"

"Yeah. Why does he have such a weird name?"

"He and his brother are Norse gods. Don't ask. His brother is Loki."

Lauren looked behind us to see Loki talking to Steve.

"Is that the one you think is cute?"

"Yeah."

"He's ugly, Michelle."

"Yeah, you've told me before."

Lauren giggled. We walked to the courts, and I jumped down from a small ledge and ran onto one court. Dominic and Dylan were already shooting one of the basketballs.

I saw Thor and Loki walk onto the court carefully. Bruce just stayed on the ledge, overlooking everything. I told Lauren that I would be right back, and I walked over to Bruce.

"Hi," I greeted him.

"Hello."

"You know, you didn't have to come if you didn't want to."

"No, I want to. I really do."

"Do you know how to play? It's okay if you don't because we're not good at all."

"I know a little."

"Okay. Great. Then, get on the court and warm up."

He smiled at me and jumped down from the ledge. I caught Lauren staring at Thor for a long time.

"Calm down," I whispered to her, "You have a boyfriend."

She laughed and said, "He won't have to know."

We both laughed. Tony got passed the ball by my uncle. He dribbled a bit before shooting. He shot and it bounced off the rim. I suppressed a laugh. He looked at me and grinned.

"I'm better than you, so…"

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he shoved my shoulder. As he turned around to walk away, he stopped and acknowledged my cousin.

"Lauren, right?"

"Yeah."

"Nice to meet you. You're tall," Tony smiled at her. Lauren smiled back at him, a little shocked.

"Yeah, I know. I'm so used to being the tallest person. It's nice to feel short," Lauren laughed quickly. Tony grinned and walked back to the actual court. Lauren and I were sort of standing at the side. Loki was just walking around the half of the court we were taking up.

"You wanna meet Mr. Ugly?" I asked Lauren. She looked where I was looking and nodded.

"Sure."

I walked over to Loki. He looked at me with my cousin and immediately smiled.

"Hello," he said, walking closer to us.

"Loki, this is Lauren."

"A pleasure," he bowed his head at her.

"Hi," she said, "Do you know you're Michelle's favorite?"

I 'shhhed' her loudly. Then, I put my hand over my face.

"Am I?" Loki sounded intrigued.

"What, he didn't know that?" Lauren said to me. I shook my head and brought my hand down to only cover my mouth.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she giggled. I refused to look at Loki while my face was burning up. I felt his eyes on me the whole time, smiling insanely.

"Thor!" I yelled out. Lauren screamed.

"No! Shhh," Lauren was warning me.

"This is payback," I pointed a finger at her and walked over to Thor. He laughed when Steve missed his second shot in a row.

"Thor," I said. Lauren wasn't following me. Instead, she began shooting with the boys.

"Yes?"

"Have you met Lauren yet?"

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah."

"No. I haven't. Do you want to introduce her to me?"

"No, I will. I just want you to know that she thinks you're cute. She told me herself."

Thor was silent, and only smiled. I saw his ears and cheeks rising in color.

"She does?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be sure to talk to her later."

"Okay," I smiled and walked away.

"You're so mean," Lauren said to me when I was close enough to her. I found it weird that we each liked one of the Asgardian brothers.

"No. We're even."

I got the ball and shot. To my surprise, the ball went right through the net. Lauren high-fived me. Tony was green with envy, and I didn't make things better when I grinned obnoxiously at him.

"Alright, who's ready to start a game?" my uncle asked and held a basketball.

"Shouldn't we wait for the other people?" Lauren said.

"Yeah… they'll catch up. They'll join us later."

"Okay."

"Who are our team leaders? Usually it's me an Uncle Steve, but he isn't here."

"My dad," I whispered to a confused Steve.

"So, it's me and… Dom, you want to be captain?"

Dominic shook his head.

"Lo?" my uncle asked Lauren. Our whole family had nicknames, basically.

"Nah. I'm good."

"One of you guys want to be captain?"

The Avengers looked at one another. Loki was sitting on one of the benches by the court, watching us.

"I'll be captain," Tony volunteered.

"Okay. I'll pick first. I pick Lauren," Uncle Dan said. Lauren walked over to him.

"Steve."

"Dom."

"Dylan."

"I'll take Michellie."

This was the first time in a long time Lauren and I were on the same team. We high-fived and waited for the rest of the teams to be chosen.

"Thor. Sorry, big guy," Tony smiled at Bruce. Bruce grinned right back at him and said, "It's fine, Tony. Now I get to whip your ass."

"We'll see about that."

Just as we were about to play, the other Bruce came with his two sons. They were friends of ours.

"Hey, Bruce!" Uncle Dan called to him. Bruce waved. Cameron had a baseball cap on, while Kyle was wearing sunglasses. They thought they were so cool, for some reason. Cameron was eleven and Kyle was thirteen, though Kyle looked like he was about ten.

"We just made teams," my uncle told him when they were closer.

"Alright. Just pick whoever. I don't care. Who are..." Bruce pointed at the new people on the court.

"These are Michelle's friends. We got Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, and over there is Loki. He can't play because he's got some sort of head injury."

"Cool. Hello," Bruce waved to everyone, "I heard Steve is coming later. This is going to be interesting. Two Steve's and two Bruce's."

"Yeah. I know, man. Okay. How about we got you… They can have Kyle and Cam."

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay. Everyone know their teams? Good. Here we go," my uncle announced to everyone. We got our teams set up, and got on the court.

Team Tony:  
Steve - Dylan – Thor – Kyle - Cameron

Team Dan:  
Lauren – Me – Dominic – Bruce B. - Bruce

Team Dan had the ball first. Tony's team was in a huddle. Tony was basically just telling Thor not to run people over, and not to foul anyone. He was also telling the god to just stay toward the basket, and not come up too far. Thor seemed like he understood.

"You ready?" I asked Lauren.

"Yeah. Hehe," she giggled. I ended up giggling with her.

"Dom, you wanna take the ball out?" I heard my uncle tell my younger cousin. He nodded. Uncle Dan passed the ball to him and Dominic was off.

The way we usually play basketball is by man-on-man. Lauren had Kyle. I had Cameron. Dominic had Dylan. Uncle Dan had Thor. Bruce had Steve. And Bruce B. had Tony. That was on defense, of course. We were on offense.

Dominic dribbled down the court, and Dylan was waiting for him at the half court line. Dom swerved around him and passed the ball to Uncle Dan. Thor didn't really know how to guard a guy, so my uncle easily passed to an open Bruce. Bruce waited for someone else to get open. I was at least four or five inches taller than Cameron, so I was pretty much open. I cut down the baseline and clapped my hands once, signaling I was open. He passed me the ball, and the moment I caught it, I saw Tony abandoning his place to try and guard me. I bounce passed to Lauren, but it was stolen by Kyle. I grunted and gave Tony a bad look for messing me up.

We all ran down the court to be on defense.

"What's the game up to?" I asked anyone listening to me. My uncle answered.

"Uhh… Let's make it to seven."

"Okay."

We also didn't count by two points per basket. It was one point for each basket made, even a three pointer.

Dylan came running down the court, dribbling the ball. Cameron and Kyle got to get in front of both Lauren and I. Dylan made a long pass to Cameron, but I tipped it out of bounds. Bruce and my uncle were telling me 'nice try' and 'good job' and stuff like that. Still, the other team got the ball.

I looked over at Loki when I was running to guard Cameron. He looked like he was enjoying watching the game thoroughly. I grinned, but got my head back in the game when I saw the ball go up in the air. Everyone on both teams was gathered around the hoop for the rebound. I still didn't know who shot it, but it bounced off the rim and flew pretty far away from the group of rebounders. It actually came toward me. I caught the ball and started dribbling down the court.

In my basketball team in school, I was usually playing a forward or a center. Therefore, I never had to dribble much. I wasn't a very good dribbler in this game either, so I took it a little slower than I hoped.

I heard random cheers from my team and other screams from Team Tony. Dylan was catching up with me on my right side, while Cameron was closing in behind me. I decided to maybe fool them by stopping short of the box and shoot from the free throw line. I took my time and shot. To my delight, the ball bounced a little bit before going through the hoop.

1 – 0: Team Dan

I smiled at my team, who decided not to try and back me up while I was dribbling the ball poorly. They all either stood back on defense or were at the half court line congratulating me.

"Nice shot," Lauren smiled at me

"Thanks," I said and smiled back. I found Cameron at half court and stood behind him, waiting for Dylan to bring the ball up the court again.

I glanced over at Tony and saw him pushing Bruce B. Bruce was taking this man-on-man thing too seriously. He wouldn't let Tony out of his sight.

Dylan passed to Kyle, who sadly was a ball hog. Lauren stayed near him, trying to knock the ball out of his hands. But Kyle was a pretty good ball handler.

"Come on, Kyle. You gotta pass to somebody," Kyle's dad scolded him, even though he was on the opposite team. Kyle looked around him for anyone that was open. He saw that Steve was wide open near the free throw line. He passed there and Steve caught it. Somehow, Steve managed to dribble the ball through the opposing team and go to the basket. He dunked, which left all of us in shock.

1 – 1

My team hustled back on offense… when I say 'my team' I mean Lauren, me, and Bruce B.

"How you doing, Bruce?" I asked the doctor. He nodded his head at me, and leaned on his knees. I was also gasping for air. Pretty much all of the Raccoons were.

"Just take it easy, alright?" I told him. He stood up straight again and grinned at me. To me, he looked kind of strange without his glasses. I guess he couldn't play with them, or he was afraid they might break on the court.

This time, Uncle Dan was dribbling the ball. He passed to Dominic, who got out of Dylan's way. Dominic dribbled with his back faced to all of us. My uncle then cut through, and Dom passed to him. Uncle Dan shot the ball, but it rolled off the rim. Lauren rebounded and put it back up. Everyone was screaming and grunting. The ball went right over the hoop and landed in Thor's hands. He didn't know what to do with the ball. Tony was already sprinting down the court, yelling at Thor to pass it.

The ball shot out of Thor's hand when he threw it at Tony. It was like a rocket, and he only used one hand. The ball flew right passed Tony's head and into the bushes surrounding the court. Everyone slowed down their running and took time to breathe.

"It's okay, Thor," I said to him, as I passed him. He looked confused and disappointed.

"I didn't know not to throw hard."

I smiled and said, "I know. Just, next time… give Tony a pass he can catch. It's a friendly game, so no one's criticizing you."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I know you'll get better."

"Talking with the enemy. We may have to get rid of you from our team," Lauren joked when I walked back to her. I grinned.

"Yeah. I just think you're jealous because I'm talking with your boyfriend."

We both laughed.

"No, you're right. That's the problem," Lauren said. Bruce hopped up onto the ledge before and is still looking for the ball Thor threw.

"I see it!" Dylan exclaimed and pointed to a spot in the distance. I saw the orange of the ball sticking out in the corner of it.

"Good eye, Dyl. Wanna get it?" Bruce asked him. Dylan and Dominic ran to the ball. Everyone else was either drinking water or just resting and saving their energy.

"Anyone know the score?" Steve asked.

"One up," I answered him. He sighed and chuckled.

"We'll be here all day. But I don't mind. I think this is fun."

"It is. We usually have long games like this."

"Yeah, I enjoy it."

I saw Dominic running back and Dylan followed behind him, holding the basketball. Both team slowly got back on the court.

"Our ball," my uncle said. Dylan passed him the ball. We all got on the correct side of the court and waited for Uncle Dan to pass to Dominic. He was our ball handler at the moment. Dominic dribbled a little bit, then passed to Bruce. Bruce caught the ball and dribbled a little closer to the hoop before shooting. The ball bounced a little before going through the hoop. Our team cheered.

"Good shot," I said to him quietly when I was running back on defense. I don't think he heard me. I really wanted to get the other Bruce the ball. He hadn't come into contact with it the entire game.

2 – 1: Team Dan

Kyle brought up the ball this time. He passed to an open Steve, who he hoped would make another dunk. Sadly for him, Steve got trapped by Bruce and Uncle Dan. He found a way to bounce the ball to Tony. Bruce B. ran into Thor by accident, which is how Tony got open. Tony was in the position to shoot, and as the ball was released from his hands, Bruce B. blocked him. He tipped the ball to the other Bruce, and he took off down the side of the court. He made an easy layup at the other end.

"Nice block, Banner. I didn't know you could play," Tony teased his opponent, but also congratulated him. Bruce grinned.

"Yeah. I played from time to time."

3 – 1: Team Dan

My team got back on defense. We played for another ten minutes without anyone scoring. My uncle declared a water break, and no one protested. Lauren and I sat near a fence, drinking our water and getting our breath back.

"We're gonna be here forever," I said.

"Yeah. I hope not. I want to play baseball."

"Me too. Can't we just stop here? We already won."

"Dad?" Lauren called her father.

"Yes, bunny love?"

"Can we maybe go up to five?"

"Yeah, we can't do seven," I sort of complained.

"Nah, I want to see what happens. This is a very competitive game. I wanna see how it turns out."

"Fine."

Lauren and I sat in silence for a little bit more. Then, I saw Loki walk over to our group of people and take the basketball we weren't using in the game. He dribbled it to the court nearer to us. He stood at the free throw line and dribbled patiently. He took his time shooting, and when he did, he got nothing but net. I stared in disbelief. He got his own rebound and shot again from the same place. Another shot in.

"Nice shot," Kyle said to Loki. He only paid attention to the last one apparently. This comment sparked everyone's attention. We were soon all watching Loki shoot.

He didn't miss one, and they were all from the free throw line.

"We need you to play, man. You're good," Bruce said. Loki smiled at him.

"Thank you. I wish I could play, but I injured my head earlier today."

"What did you do?" Kyle asked the god, taking another sip of his water. Loki paused before answering, shooting again with the same result.

"I hit my head on a wooden beam."

"Did it hurt?" Cameron joined in.

"Yes, it did at first. But, then I went to the hospital and got stitches. I'm better now."

"You got stitches? It must've been pretty bad, then," Dylan said.

"There was a lot of blood."

Everyone was silent. The only noise was the sound of the basketball going right through the net… *swoosh*.

"Who's ready to keep playing?" my uncle asked everyone. Lauren and I groaned, but stood up along with everyone else. Loki left the court and sat down on the bench with the basketball he was shooting.

"Whose ball was it?" Tony asked.

"Ours, I think," Steve answered him.

"Yeah, it was ours," Kyle assured them. Once everyone was set, we continued playing. Tony went to the basket every time he got the ball. He made one in out of the six he took. The score soon became…

4 – 6: Team Tony

My team was soon getting tired, and we were losing hope.

"Dad, can it not be the 'win by two' rule? Whoever reaches seven first wins," Lauren told Uncle Dan as we were running down the court to be on defense.

"Sure," he said to her with a smile.

Tony got the ball once again, and he tried to go to the basket with it. I was getting sick of that, so I stepped away from Cameron and got up in his face with my arms flailing. I blocked him successfully. He had to pass out to Steve. Steve passed to Thor who turned out to be open. Before Bruce got to him, Thor shot. It was going to be a short shot, and everyone saw that. We gathered around where we thought it would land. But out of nowhere… Tony jumps over all of us, catches the ball, and dunks it for the win.

The billionaire landed on his feet with a smug smile plastered on his face. Instead of all of us being jealous or sore losers, my entire team congratulated Tony and the other team for a good game.

When I got to Tony, I told him, "Nice shot. It was really cool."

"Thanks. You played a good game."

"Sorry for blocking you at the end. I was just sick of you shooting and missing nearly every one of them."

"It's fine. I had a good time. We should play more often. You're pretty good."

"Yeah. It was a close game. But you and Steve with those dunks! Holy shit! We've never been able to do that here."

Tony laughed and said, "Well, I practice. And I just figured that Steve would be awesome at sports… I mean, look at him."

"I know. Good game, though. Ready for baseball now?" I smiled and asked Tony. He chuckled and answered with, "Hell yeah."

I walked away from him to high-five Lauren on a good game.

"We lost, but it was close," I told her.

"Yeah…" she nodded her head, "But now we'll beat them in baseball."

"Exactly."

We all walked back to my uncle's car to put the basketballs away and get our baseball/softball equipment.

"Do you guys have baseball mitts and bats?" Uncle Dan asked The Avengers.

"I always have some sports stuff in my car. I have… two mitts, a couple baseballs, and a wooden bat. Is that what you guys use?" Tony informed us.

"We usually just use aluminum bats, but that stuff is fine," I said to him.

"Yeah. We need all the equipment we can get," my uncle said as he closed the trunk of his car, "Let's head down there."

We all walked down the length of the park to the field we always use when we come down to the park, unless it's already occupied. The 'Robert Schmidtt Field'.

Lauren and I were talking as we walked, but then Loki ran up next to me.

"Good game," he smiled at me. I was still aware that he knew that he was my favorite, which is why I only nodded.

"Do you play baseball as well as you play basketball?" Lauren asked the god. Loki grinned.

"I haven't had as much experience with baseball as I have with basketball. That is all I will say on the subject. You performed well on the court, as well," Loki told my cousin. She thanked him. I was in the middle of the two of them, looking ahead and carrying my softball bag. We walked in silence until we approached the field.

"Why are you embarrassed?" Loki asked me. Lauren grinned, and slowly slowed her pace so Loki and I would be alone.

"I'm not," I gave him a disbelieving look to try and hide that I was actually embarrassed.

"Yes, you are. Because your cousin told me that I was your favorite…"

"You're not."

"Oh, well that kind of hurts. I thought I was."

Now I was feeling guilty as well as totally embarrassed.

"No… I'm sorry. By favorite, I think she kind of meant that I like you the most out of everyone."

"Isn't that what 'favorite' means?"

I sighed and said, "Well, yeah. Can we not talk about this anymore?"

Loki was silent. I waited for an answer while I placed my softball bag in one of the dugouts and unzipped it.

"I will drop the subject, Michelle. I can see that it makes you uncomfortable. And if I had to choose… I'd say you are my favorite," Loki gave me one of his grins and walked onto the field with everybody else. I felt the color in my cheeks and ears rising.

The other Steve (Dylan's father) arrived at this moment. He said hi to me, and asked Uncle Dan about the new guys on the field. My uncle explained everything to him, and even told him each of their names.

"Should we play a game?" I heard Bruce asked, as I joined the congregation on the field.

"Yeah. We have enough guys," Dylan's dad said. My uncle agreed.

"Same teams as in basketball?" Uncle Dan asked. Most of us agreed on that.

"And they look like they have some power hitters, so I think we can get Steve. Is that okay with you guys?" my uncle said to Tony.

"Yeah. It seems totally fair."

"Great. Who's up first?"

"Can my team bat first? You started the basketball game."

"Yeah, that's fine."

In went back in one of the dugouts to get my glove as my uncle explained what we do on the baseball field. We play a game, but it's not a professional game.

Basically, these are the rules:  
1. There are no strike-outs. Everyone stays at bat until they hit something.  
2. Once hit, the ball must go past the pitcher's mound.  
3. Each team must self-pitch (meaning, if you're on the team that's batting, someone on your team has to pitch).  
4. No stealing bases.  
5. Have fun!

I went to first base as my team got situated on the field. On my softball team in school, I play first base, so no one argues when I go there almost every game we play. I'm usually either on first base or right field when I play in Statzky with my family and friends.

Team Tony was busy discussing their batting order. I felt bad that Loki was sitting out again. A day at the park isn't fun if you don't do anything. Still, I was afraid to approach him after what he said to me. I was repeating it over and over again in my head to make sure I heard him right.

Seeing Cameron up at bat knocked me out of my thoughts. Apparently, Steve was the pitcher on their team. I couldn't wait to see this.

"You ready?" Steve held up a baseball to show Cameron. Cam nodded.

I was expecting Steve to throw at 100mph or something. But I was surprised to see Steve give Cam a pitch that we usually throw. It was overhand, but it wasn't that fast. It went right down the middle and Cameron swung, but he missed. I heard his brother and Dylan cheering him on. Good thing there were no strikeouts. Steve dug through a bucket of baseballs and softballs my uncle always brought to the park to give Cameron another pitch. Loki was sitting on a little perch set up behind home plate, outside of the fence. I guess that was where the scorekeeper would sit during real games.

Steve pitched again, just like before. And again, Cameron swung and missed.

"Is that where you like them?" Steve asked the batter just to be sure he isn't doing something wrong.

"I don't know," was the response.

"Okay. Can you give me a practice swing? Just so I have a better idea of where to throw. Cameron swung like Steve asked. He did it again.

"Alright. Can you move further from the plate for a … there you go. Okay, you ready?"

"Yeah."

Steve pitched a little faster than before. Cameron hit it, but it was a grounder right to short stop, who happened to be Lauren. She picked it up. I knew she wasn't a strong thrower, so I moved in. She threw it and I caught the ball, but Cameron was already safe at first. I threw the ball back to Steve.

"Good arm, Michelle," he smiled at me. I rolled my eyes but smiled back.

Next at bat was Dylan. I then saw Kyle looking like he was up after him. I guessed they were going in age order.

Dylan was always a really good player. He's involved in some sort of baseball camp because he's so good. I signaled to whoever was in the infield to the right to step back a little. Lauren (short stop) and Dylan's dad (third) moved back a little.

"Take your time, Dyl," I heard his dad cheer him on. I thought that was nice. That was also the cool thing about the Riverhead Raccoons. We always supported and cheered for each other, even if we were on opposite teams.

The first pitch was just as perfect as the previous ones. But it was a little too slow for Dylan. He had a good swing, but he missed.

"Can you throw a little faster?" Dylan asked Steve, the pitcher.

"Sure."

The next pitch was faster and Dylan hit it. He hit it up in the air, and my uncle was in right field. He ran to try and get it, but it landed short of him. He ran to the ball on the ground and threw it to third. Team Tony now had men on first and second.

"I couldn't see because of the sun," Uncle Dan was explaining to Bruce. That Bruce laughed. I looked behind me, and just realized that Bruce B. was playing left field.

As I predicted, Kyle was at bat next. I saw Tony talking to Thor, probably about not hitting so hard that you would break the ball or the metal bat. Thor nodded his head after Tony said something. Maybe I was right.

The first two pitches, Kyle swung but missed. On the third, he tipped it. The fourth was a foul. And on the fifth pitch, he hit it right to second base. Dominic caught it and stepped on the bag. He threw to me to get a double play. I had to step off the bag to catch it, so Kyle was safe. Still, we got one out. The other team now had a man on first and third. Thor was at the plate next. He was holding one of my bats because they were bigger than the others. It still looked tiny compared to him. I liked that bat, so I just prayed he wouldn't put a dent in it or anything.

"Okay. Take it easy, Thor. I'll throw slowly at first," Steve was telling the blond demigod. Thor nodded and held the bat like how he saw his three predecessors did. Steve pitched carefully. Thor missed. But holy cow did he have a swing! The bat almost flew out of his hand, and that was when he missed the ball. Steve saw that and decided to keep the pitches slow, so as to keep the ball in one piece and keep it inside the field.

The next pitch was a perfect one. Thor kept his eye on the ball the entire time and swung. He hit the ball in the sweet spot on the bat. Tony was yelling at him to run when he saw the ball go past center field. It hit the fence in the back. Thor was on second base by the time the outfielder got the ball. Thor went to third, and was going to go to home, but Kyle was still running. Thor was a god, so I guess he had more speed compared to the rest of us.

"Can you move faster, please?" Thor asked Kyle as he was running behind him. Kyle was surprised and moved faster to get to home. Thor was on his way, but the ball was already in the infield. I tried to run to home plate so Steve could throw it to me. Captain America couldn't help our team, since he was on the opposite one. I called the third baseman's name and he threw it to me. I caught it, but it might have been too late. Thor tried to slow himself, but he rammed right into me. I fell to the dusty ground. Thor was immediately leaning over me to see if I was alright, but I was in a daze.

I heard Tony cracking up somewhere. I sat up straight and held my left arm. Thor ran his body into my left side, so that was why it hurt. By now, everyone on the field came to check up on me.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" I heard Lauren ask me. Her voice showed that she was concerned, but at the same time, still in awe of what just happened.

"You saw what happened?" Kyle asked his brother. Then he said to me, "You, like, did a flip before you fell."

I flipped?! At least nothing was broken… I hoped. No, I would feel it, right? Well, I was sitting upright so that was somewhat good news. I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and lift me to my feet. It was Thor.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you," Thor apologized to me. He seemed very sorry about what he did. I could see it in his blue eyes.

"I-I'm okay. I just got scared," I tried to grin. I was just so shaky. I didn't even think he ran into me that hard. I'm glad he didn't completely run me over, like a bull. Thor hugged me, then let go.

"You okay, bunny? You took quite a tumble," my uncle came over to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"I think you should sit out for a while," Bruce B. suggested. My uncle and the other Bruce agreed.

"But I wanna play," I sort of whined to them.

"No. I think it's best if you sit for at least ten minutes," Bruce B. finished, putting his arm on my left shoulder. I gasped and flinched violently.

"Did I hurt you?" he removed his hand immediately.

"It's fine. I just hurt my left arm a little bit."

"Yeah. You need to sit."

"I will, I will…" I moped over to the dugout I put my bag in. I sighed as I plopped down on the wooden bench. I was still clutching my arm, which now started throbbing.

Loki was looking at me from his perch. He walked down the short steps and sat down next to me in the dugout. I glanced at him before returning my gaze to the game.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I let go of my arm to try and prove that I was strong and that I could take it. The truth was… my eyes were still watering from when it happened. Loki looked at my left arm, then at me. He saw me biting my lip as I tried to move my arm. My shoulder hurt the most.

"You look like you're in pain. And I know it hurts. I've been run over by my giant of a brother many, many times before. Each time resulted in some sort of injury. You're lucky he slowed down a fraction before he hit you."

"He didn't mean to."

"I know. He didn't mean to with me, either. He was just born a tremendous accident."

I knew that he was trying to be funny, but I found what Loki was saying offensive.

"Thor is a nice guy. You should be nice to him. He is your brother, after all."

"Are you always nice to your brother?"

"Not always. But I love him."

"I love Thor, too. It's just sibling rivalry."

"I guess."

Bruce made a catch in center field that ended the first half of the inning. The score was…

4 – 0: Team Tony

My team was now at bat. I was really upset because I wanted to bat. I wanted to show The Avengers that I could hit well. Lauren came over to Loki and I. She sat on my right side, since Loki was taking up the left.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I was just startled."

"It looked crazy! You actually did some sort of flip before you landed. And you landed on your back, which isn't too good. You're back doesn't hurt?"

"No. It's just, like, the whole left side of my body. But my shoulder hurts the most. I'll get over it. I just need to rest it, I guess."

"Yeah. I don't think you should play the rest of the game," Lauren glanced at Loki.

"I'll see. I really want to play, though."

"Next time we come, you'll be able to play."

"I hope so."

I watched Dominic bat first. If I wasn't hurt, I would be batting after him. Damn. He made it to first base with my uncle pitching.

"Good luck," I told Lauren as she stood up to bat.

"Thanks."

"You don't think you can play?" Loki said to me once Lauren was at the plate.

"I'll have to see how I feel."

"Alright. Do what you wish. I really wanted to see you bat."

Loki was just causing trouble for me on purpose. He's been making me feel so bad about myself ever since Lauren told him that he was my favorite, which meant that I thought he was cute. My head was still reeling from being knocked over by Thor. And now I had to think about what Loki sat about me being his favorite, and that he wanted to see me bat.  
I guess I could go up to bat once… No, my shoulder hurt too much. I was afraid it might snap off if I swung my bat.

"I really want to bat. But I don't want to hurt myself any more than I already have," I explained to Loki. He didn't look at me when he answered, and instead kept his gaze on the field.

"I know. Maybe we can come back here later in the week. I am going to be here most of this time."

"Yeah. Sounds good. But it's not very fun to play basketball and baseball with two people."

"But I thought… never mind. I would actually prefer to play with two people. Less commotion."

"Okay. I'll ask my grandma when we can go. But I doubt she'll let the both of us go to the park since we're both injured."

Loki chuckled.

"That would be interesting. The cripples playing sports…"

I didn't really want to, but I giggled. Loki looked at me now.

"How is your arm?"

"It's fine. Why?"

"I keep seeing you twist it and try to move it with failure."

"No, it's fine. Just my shoulder hurts," I lied. It really was my entire left arm that was causing me the most pain.

"Then, may I see your arm?"

I moved my arm the best I could so it was in his outstretched hand. I really had to turn my body to face him so he could 'see' my arm. He seemed like he was examining it.

"Nothing is broken."

"How do you know that?"

"I can feel it."

I looked from Loki to my arm. The position it was in really hurt. I bit my lip to combat the pain.

"Does this hurt?" Loki squeezed my arm. I gasped and pulled my arm away from him.

"I guess that's a yes. Can I see it again? I'm sorry for hurting you."

"No! That really hurt," I was forming tears in my eyes again.

"Please. I promise I won't hurt it," Loki reached toward me. Just then, I heard screaming and clapping on the field. Someone just hit a homerun. I think it was Dylan's dad, Steve. I would clap, but I was in too much pain.

"I think your team just got a grand slam. Is that what it's called?"

"Probably."

"May I have that arm now? I'm trying to help you."

I reluctantly handed over my aching arm, "Don't touch that part again."

Loki smiled at me and said, "I give you my word. But I need to touch your shoulder for a second."

I allowed him to. He rolled up my sleeve. He gently pressed his fingertips on random parts of my shoulder. I flinched during most of the prodding.

"This may hurt a little bit," Loki said. He grabbed my arm and forearm in his hands. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Loki's hands created a red glow that turned to blue ten seconds after. I was staring at it. When he released my whole arm, there were marks of his fingers on it. They soon faded. I moved my arm carefully to see what Loki did. It didn't hurt anymore. My grin grew wider as I twisted and turned my arm in every direction I could.

I looked at Loki, my face was beaming. I leaned in and hugged him. He hugged back.

"Oh, thank you so much! I can play now!"

"You're welcome. I hope you hit a home run now," Loki smiled at me once I let go of him. My team was once again on the field. I grabbed my glove and ran out there.

"Should you be playing?" Steve asked me as I ran on the foul line to the outfield.

"Loki healed me," I smiled widely at him. Steve just shrugged. I continued running to the open left field, since no action really happens over there. My team quickly made three outs without the other team scoring.

While I was out, I wasn't paying attention to the score. Bruce B. told me that we were down by two points. The real score was…

9 – 11: Team Tony

Dominic was up to bat. I was up after him. Lauren asked me how I was able to play. I didn't tell her the real reason, and instead I just said that my arm felt better. I could tell she didn't really believe me, but she let it go.

Dominic hit the ball to second base, and he was out at first. I grabbed my bat and stepped onto the plate. I took a practice swing or two to make sure my arm was fine. I missed the first two pitches my uncle threw to me. The third came, and I swung… but I missed. This was getting embarrassing for me, especially with The Avengers and Loki staring at me.

The fourth pitch. The fifth. The sixth. I couldn't hit anything. Uncle Dan told me to take a couple more practice swings and to relax. I did as he was told, and the next pitch was too outside. Finally, on the seventh pitch I crushed the ball between short stop and third base. I ran as fast as I could, and I got a double off of it.

Before looking at anything or anyone else, I looked at Loki who returned to his perch. He was standing and clapping, smiling at me. I found myself smiling back.

Lauren hit her first pitch and got to first base. I made it safely to third. Steve (Dylan's dad) was up at bat next. I knew he could crush the ball, so I was all ready to run to home. He missed the first couple pitches, but that was because they were sort of all over the place. Then, he hit one that was very close to the foul line in right field. I took off running to home. I made it, and I saw Steve stay at first base.

10 – 11: Team Tony

So, we continued playing until we reached six innings. That was when everyone got tired. We ended up losing, but no one really cared. The final score was…

13 – 15: Team Tony

We packed up our things and headed back to the cars. The Osojnaks' parted with Dylan and his dad, and Bruce and his kids. Tony was going to follow us, and my uncle was going to drop me off at Noni and Gabu's house.

"We played good," I said once we were in Uncle Dan's car and in motion.

"Yeah. You're friends are pretty good, bunny," my uncle told me. I smiled.

"They're pretty cool."

"I'm surprised that you felt better and you were able to play."

"Yeah, I don't know what happened. I guess I was just kind of shaken up, and then I got over it."

We continued driving back to Reeves Park, talking about random things on the way. We finally arrived, and my uncle just dropped me off. I said good-bye to Uncle Dan, Dominic, and Lauren. They drove away, and I walked up the driveway to Tony's car. They were still filing out of it.

"You played good. At everything," Tony said to me.

"Thanks."

"And you took quite a spill on the baseball field. How did you recover from that? You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

"Loki, um… did something. Some sort of magic, and he fixed my arm because that really hurt."

"Wow. That guy can do anything."

"Heh, I know. Everything except rule the Earth."

Tony laughed at that. The Avengers, Loki, and myself entered the house. We got situated again, but I knew that everyone but Loki would have to leave soon.

~The End~


	6. The Departure

The Avengers: A Beach Day 6 - The Departure

by ~MichelleAndTheBeatle

I went back on the computer when we were all comfortable in the house. I talked to my grandparents about the park a little bit before going on the computer. The Avengers were all packing for their trip home. I didn't know what Loki was doing.

That always popped into my head... Loki staying over. I knew nothing bad was going to happen since we're in my grandparent's house in a private area. But I kept thinking about how Lauren told Loki that he was my 'favorite'. That new knowledge totally made him act differently around me. Personally, I prefer when he didn't know about my fondness for him. I was dreading spending an entire week with him.

I was checking my deviantART account mail, while listening to One Direction's 'Up All Night' album. I found myself humming along to the songs, mostly because I didn't know the words. I just knew the basic tunes.

I heard Tony arguing with Steve about something. I shook my head, but thought about why they were fighting. How did they even get near each other? They stay in different rooms! Next, I heard Bruce trying to calm them down. He was giving them his 'the other guy' speech as a warning. The argument slowly dies down, and the entire upper floor was silent. At least, all I could hear was the clicking of the mouse and the keyboard keys.

"Comrades, are we ready to departure yet?" I heard Thor yell from downstairs. Tony came out of the room he shared with Bruce and stood at the railing. Thor was at the foot of the stairs.

"Uh... Give us another ten minutes, Blondie."

"Very well," Thor said. I heard him walk away from the steps. I could see Tony looking at me from the reflection of the mirror right behind the computer.

"Watcha up to?" the billionaire asked me, moving closer to me.

"Stuff."

He chuckled.

"That's not very specific," Tony was now right behind me, leaning his hand on the back of my chair, "What's deviantART?"

"It's a website where I post my stories."

"You write stories? I didn't know that! Well, I guess your grandma told us that you want to be a writer when you get older, so I should've figured that you did some sort of writing. What do you write about?"

"All kinds of stuff," I tried to stay as general as I could. I went back on my messages, so Tony wouldn't see Loki as my deviantID.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Uh… Just The Beatles, the WWE, and poems."

"Can I read one of your poems?" Tony grinned. Did he expect me to write love poems or something? Well, there is one that is kind of about love.

"I'd prefer if you didn't."

"Please."

"No."

"Pretty please…"

"Fine. Pick one," I showed Tony my 'Poems' folder in my Gallery.

"'Real Love'," of course Tony picked the one I didn't want him to see. I clicked on it so he could read it. I kept looking at the mirror to see his face as he read. When he got to a certain point, I saw him smile. After maybe thirty more seconds, Tony chuckled. He looked down, so I figured he finished reading. I went back to my messages.

"Who was the person you were talking to… or about?"

"No one. I just thought of this as I was reading some other people's love poems one day in school."

"It's very good. I just wish I knew who your lover is in the poem."

"It's no one."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Oh. Sorry, I was just trying to guess who it could be."

"Why won't you believe me?"

"What?"

"Never mind…"

"It's about me, isn't it," Tony smiled at me. I tried to give him a look, but I grinned slightly. He laughed before giving me a kiss on my cheek, and then he retreated to his and Bruce's room.

"I'll figure out who it is," Tony yelled out just before I heard a door close. I permitted myself to laugh after the door was closed.

I was lying to him. I wrote this when I thought about a crush I had on a boy in my class. I still do, actually. I just didn't want to tell Tony because… he's Tony Stark.

I replied to a few comments on my stuff, and then deleted other notifications on my DA message page. I also started quietly singing along to 'Save You Tonight' when it came on.

"Sounds good, Michelle," Bruce said. He appeared out of his room and said that as he went into the bathroom up here. I saw him smile brightly before he went in the bathroom. I immediately stopped singing and resorted to humming once again.

After about fifteen minutes without much action, Tony, Steve, and Bruce came out of their rooms carrying the bags they brought their clothes in. Well, basically Tony had a big bag. Bruce and Steve just brought their dirty clothes in plastic bags.

"You guys are leaving already?"

"Yeah. I know your dying inside," Tony smiled as I exited out of the page I was on on the Internet. I stood up to lead them downstairs.

"But you still have Rock of Ages to pal around with. I'm sure that'll be fun," Tony joked as we reached the bottom of the stairs. I giggled.

"Yeah, that'll be interesting," I said. I walked into the kitchen and told my grandma that they were leaving. My grandpa overheard from the dining room table because he almost always sits there, even if he isn't eating. He stood up.

"You don't want lunch?" Noni asked Steve mainly when she entered the hallway.

"No thank you. We'll eat at the Stark Towers when we get there," Steve answered her. Tony gave Steve an approving look. I heard someone climbing the basement stairs. I figured it was Loki, since Thor was gathered with us already in the hallway.

As I predicted, Loki appeared at the basement door, bandaged and all.

"I came to see them off," Loki smiled.

"Thank you for everything. We really appreciate it," Tony hugged my grandma.

"Oh, please. It was no big deal. It was our pleasure to have you."

The rest of The Avengers did the same to Noni and thanked her afterwards. Then they shook hands with Gabu. I overheard Thor say some parting words to his brother.

Suddenly, I was bombarded with hugs from The Avengers.

"Good-bye…. I'll miss you… We should do this again…. Thanks for inviting us…" I heard from random voices as they hugged me.

"Bye," and, "No problem," were my main answers. Noni, Gabu, Loki, and I all went outside to watch The Avengers drive away.

"Bye!" I screamed as they pulled out of the driveway. I saw Bruce wave from the backseat. Soon, the car was out of sight.

This was one of the best weekends of my life. I got to hang out with The Avengers and Loki, and bring them to meet my grandparents. I had so much fun.

But… as Tony's 2014 SUV was pulling out of the driveway, I only thought of one thing.

I would be spending a whole week… an entire seven days… with the God of Mischief. The Trickster. The son of Laufey….. Loki.

~The End~


End file.
